Researchers said that fast food restaurants could hand out free cholesterol-busting statin drugs to offset the heart disease risk caused by the food.  Statins are highly effective in fighting the risk of heart attack and significanly lower the ammount of unhealthy LDL cholesterol.

Scientists at Imperial College London said that takin a statin pill can offset the increased risk of heart attack created by the fat in a medium sized cheese-burger and a small milkshake.

Statins do not cut out all the unhealthy effects of burgers and fries, it is still better to avoid fatty foods altogether.  However, it was worked out that in terms of the likelihood of having a heart attack, statin can reduce the risk to more or less same degree as a fast food meal can increase it.  Researches argued that the proposal was no different to asking people to wear seatbelts while driving.

Many health professionals were sceptical about the proposal, saying the suggestion that the harmful effects of junk food can be erased by taking cholesterol lowering statin tablets should not be taken literaly.