ust one serving of fried chicken per day increases the overall risk of death in postmenopausal women by 13 percent, according to an observational study published in the BMJ. Led by researchers at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, the study also suggests that daily servings of fried fish or shellfish raise mortality risk in postmenopausal women by 7 percent.

Data for the research came from the Women’s Health Initiative and involved nearly 107,000 women ages 50 to 79 at medical clinics throughout the United States. Women provided information about their consumption of 122 foods, including fried chicken and fish, French fries, tortillas, and others, over an average period of 18 years.

After adjusting for other factors that could affect mortality, the researchers found that older women who consumed fried foods daily had a higher overall risk of death and a higher risk of death from heart-related causes than women who didn’t eat fried foods. Researchers didn’t find a link between fried food consumption and cancer-related deaths. Additional research could possibly determine whether these results also apply to men and whether they’re related to the frying process, the type of cooking oil used, or other factors.