Exposure and Health Risk Related to Deep-fried Food Consumption Among Students in Thailand
Date Issued
2012
Date
2012
Author(s)
Chang, Tse-Hsueh
Abstract
Acrylamide (AA) has gained great attention and interest since its discovery in highly heated foodstuffs in 2002. AA is formed naturally in food while cooking through Maillard reactions, and also a probable human carcinogen. Consuming excessive deep-fried foods would lead to another problem, which is obesity. Obesity has grown from the past decades, and it is a worldwide health issue. Thailand is a country with its own unique culture, especially its cuisine. Deep-fried foods are popular in Thai cuisine, and therefore Thais may consume substantial amount of deep-fried foods, which leads to an issue of exposure of AA through dietary intake and becoming obese. This study is a cross-sectional study, sampling a total of 485 students aging from 7 to 25 from city and rural areas in Thailand, including food consumption questionnaire survey and urine sample. Excluding primary school students which may have inaccurate data, a total of 366 subjects from junior high to college (ages 13-25) were taken into analysis. The ratio of both genders was about equal, and the average BMI of the subjects was 22.01±4.86 kg/m2. A BMI considered as obese in college level was 25, and above the 95-percentile of BMI of the same age level in junior and senior high levels. Average daily AA intake, urinary AA metabolite levels, and risk factors of obesity among Thai students were obtained through analysis of data. Two approaches will be used for estimating average daily AA intake: deterministic method and Monte Carlo simulation. Having limited data on AA concentration, we will only be using 18 out of 35 food items for the calculations. The data on AA concentration was obtained from the study elsewhere. Due to technical limitations, we were only able to analyze 79 urine samples from city area at this point in time. By using the cancer slope factors reported from different studies, estimation on excessive lifetime cancer risk can be calculated. Margin of exposure (MOE) was calculated by using the BMDL10 derived from animal studies, which shows the ratio of point of departure (PoD) to the estimated daily AA intake. The average daily AA intakes estimated by using 18 food items in this study were 0.24 μg per kilogram body weight per day (μg/kg bw/day) and 0.17 μg/kg bw/day for deterministic method and Monte Carlo simulation, respectively. The average urinary AA metabolite level in the 79 samples from city area was 101.55±63.60 ng/mg. The lifetime cancer risk of consuming the 18 foods for junior high to college level students was estimated to be in a range of 10-5 to 10-4, depending on what cancer slope factor is used. The MOEs all showed a value greater than one, indicating that there is no expected increase in cancer risk related to AA intake by consuming the 18 foods. Although the cancer risk estimation from our study is high, considering the AA''s genotoxicity and carcinogenicity, it is scientifically appropriate to use the MOE to assess its risk. Using the inappropriate method in assessing risk may cause an overestimation. The results of MOE in this study show no expectation in increase of cancer risk. However, this does not mean there is no cancer risk in AA consumption and should still take its possible risk into consideration. Certain food items such as deep-fried fish paste and shrimp crackers may also have an impact on obesity, and would considered being the risk factors of obesity. The protective factors of obesity among the 366 subjects in this study were regular exercises on daily basis and daily fruit consumption. No association between urinary AA metabolite levels and obesity is found. Further studies should be conducted in the future to estimate a cancer risk in a wider population and to help verify the difference in cancer risk estimation.
Subjects
acrylamide
obesity
deep-fried food
cancer risk
Thailand
SDGs
Type
thesis
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