There's nothing like cheeseburger matched with French fries or a quick salad bowl from a nearby fast food chain. However, a study has found more reasons why these food choices may not be good for you.

Those that like to indulge every now and then may want to consider slowing down or avoiding fast food altogether.

New Findings

The recently published study shows that a fast food diet can cause osteoarthritis and lead to severe joint problems. The problem is not from the pounds that one might gain from continuously consuming food high in fat, rather it's from the bacteria left in the intestines.

While it feels great to enjoy a meal from popular fast food chains, repeatedly eating at such could cause a person to have gut microbiomes, the bad bacteria in the gut. Gut microbiomes could be the reason behind joint inflammation and stiffness in the body. If an individual is obese, the chance of experiencing inflammation also increases.

A team of experts from the University of Rochester Medical Center conducted the study with the method of keeping a group of mice on a high-fat diet similar to a human's "cheeseburger and milkshake" diet. The team was composed of Michael Zuscik, associate professor of Orthopaedics; Robert Mooney, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; and Steven Gill, associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology.

After being continuously fed with their high-fat meals for 12 weeks, the mice eventually became obese and diabetic. The food also caused their body fat percentage to double, unlike a separate group of mice that were fed with lean food and maintained a healthy diet. 

Bacteria living off of food high in fat can trigger soreness and weakness, which is why the obese mice that were induced with osteoarthritis began to lose cartilage in their knees quickly. 

Osteoarthritis is a side effect of obesity and has affected 31 million people in the United States alone, according to the Arthritis Foundation.

Can You Have Your Cake And Eat It, Too? 

The study found that gut bacteria, obesity, osteoarthritis, and irritation were reduced when the obese mice were given a supplement with a prebiotic called oligofructose. While the oliogofructose increased good bacteria in the gut over the inflammation-causing bad bacteria, it didn't change the weight of the mice. The supplement simply reduced the irritation and slowed down the cartilage breakdown in the mice that had osteoarthritis in the knees. 

Another round of trials needs to be conducted to prove that a similar effect would show in humans.