This October 13, 2010 file photo shows a McDonald's Happy Meal complete with a "Star Wars" toy. A new international study finds that kids who eat a lot of fast food are more likely than their peers to have asthma and allergies. The study does not prove and effect but gives researchers new food for thought. / KAREN BLEIER AFP/Getty Images

Your Tuesday morning health roundup:

Diet and allergies: Kids who eat a lot of fast food have a significantly increased risk of asthma, eczema and allergy symptoms such as runny noses and itchy eyes, a large new international study shows. The study can't prove fast food causes the problems because fast food eaters may have other things in common. But it gives scientists new clues in the search for environmental factors that might be contributing to a worldwide surge in allergic disorders. Among the dietary suspects: certain fats, salt, sugar and preservatives. (NBC News)

Berries and hearts: Here's another study that links diet and health. Young and middle-aged women who eat three or more weekly servings of blueberries or strawberries have a lower risk of heart attack than women who eat fewer of the colorful fruits, researchers report. Again, the association does not prove causation, but researchers have theories that might explain how berries protect hearts. (WebMD)

Hospital rules: Planning to visit a sick friend or relative in the hospital? Better check your own health: Some hospitals are trying to protect patients and staffers from the flu by turning away visitors with coughs, fevers, runny noses or other signs of illness. (New York Times)

Today's talker: Obese people face all sorts of discrimination. But obese women might have something extra to worry about if they ever find themselves facing criminal charges and male jurors. In a new study, men presented with pictures of lean and obese women were more likely to decide the obese women were guilty in an imaginary check-fraud case. But one jury expert tells ABC News that real juries are much more swayed by the weight of the evidence than the weight of the defendant.

Copyright 2015

Read the original story: Health roundup: Fast food linked to allergies, asthma

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