The closer we live to convenience food stores, the more likely we are to be at risk of heart failure, according to a study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation: Heart Failure.

Fast food restaurants and bars often serve unhealthy foods and drinks, which have been linked to cardiovascular disease, said study lead author Lou Kee, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Tulane University in New Orleans.

The study was done on data for half a million adults aged 37-73 from the UK Biobank. The researchers measured participants’ exposure to three types of dining establishments: bars/pubs, restaurants/cafes, and fast food restaurants. Exposure was determined based on proximity (living within one kilometer or 15 minutes’ walk) and density (number of convenience stores within one kilometer).

The study tracked nearly 13,000 heart failure cases over a twelve-year follow-up period and found that greater proximity and density of ready-to-eat food outlets was associated with an increased risk of heart failure. Overall, participants who lived in an area with a higher density of fast food outlets (an area with eleven or more fast food outlets within one kilometer) had a 16% higher risk of heart failure compared to those who did not have fast food outlets near their home.

Those in areas with the highest density of pubs and bars had a 14% higher risk of heart failure, while those living in areas with the highest density of fast food outlets had a 12% higher risk.

Participants who lived closer to pubs and bars, less than 500 meters away, had a 13% higher risk of heart failure, while those who lived closer to fast food outlets had a 10% higher risk compared to those who lived more than two kilometers.

THE correlation between dietary environment and increased risk of heart failure was strongest among people who did not have a college degree and those who lived in urban areas without access to physical activity facilities such as gyms.