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Review
. 2025 Sep;54(9):1808-1819.
doi: 10.18502/ijph.v54i9.19850.

Impact of Fast Food Consumption on Obesity and Overweight among Individuals Aged Ten Years and Above: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Seif Said Khalfan  1   2 , Jeremie Minani  2 , Sultan Khamis Muki  2 , Fatma Ahmed Said  3 , Dennis M Lyakurwa  4 , Bo Zhang  1
Affiliations
Review

Impact of Fast Food Consumption on Obesity and Overweight among Individuals Aged Ten Years and Above: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Seif Said Khalfan et al. Iran J Public Health. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of obesity and overweight globally has increased to epidemic proportions, representing a substantial burden on health systems. The consumption of high-energy-density but low-nutritional-value food, known as fast food, has been linked to the obesity epidemic. This review aimed to quantify the association between fast food consumption and overweight/obesity in individuals aged ten years and above.

Methods: We followed the PRISMA-P 2020 guidelines. To identify studies, English databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and DOAJ, were searched. The search strategy focused on terms and inclusion criteria. After quality assessment, data were analyzed using SPSS software.

Results: Thirteen studies out of 665 screened indicate a significant positive association between fast food consumption and obesity or overweight (OR 2.979 [1.748-5.078]). Heterogeneity analysis revealed substantial variability across studies (Q = 119.497, P < 0.0001; I2 = 92.47%), suggesting true differences beyond chance with the random-effects model showed a stronger association compared to the fixed-effects model (OR 2.979 vs. OR 1.929). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated variations based on sample size. Publication bias of the included studies was done using Egger's and Begg's tests.

Conclusion: The analysis revealed the effect of fast food consumption on weight status varied among demographic subpopulations. The review also provides further justification for interventions to encourage healthier dietary choices and reductions in consumption of fast food, both of which, in turn, are aimed at tackling the obesity epidemic.

Keywords: Fast food consumption; Junk food; Meta-analysis; Obesity; Overweight.

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Figures

Fig. 1:
Fig. 1:
PRISMA Flow Diagram Showing the Process of Study Selection
Fig. 2:
Fig. 2:
Forest plot of the association between fast food consumption and overweight/obesity using a random effects model
Fig. 3:
Fig. 3:
Funnel Plot
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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