People who eat lots of fried food and sugary drinks have a 56 percent higher risk of heart disease compared to those who eat healthier, according to US researchers. The findings in Circulation, a journal of the American Heart Association, were based on a six-year study of more than 17,000 people in the United States. Researchers found that people who regularly ate what was described as a Southern style diet — fried foods, eggs, processed meats like bacon and ham, and sugary drinks — faced the highest risk of a heart attack or heart-related death during the next six years.