--- title: A Teen Boy's Diet of Fries and Sausage Led to Blindness description: A new case study says a teenage boy's junk food diet of fries, Pringles and sausage led to vision loss and blindness. canonical: https://time.com/5667374/poor-diet-blindness-case-study/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-09-03T17:45:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T07:17:28.829Z article:section: Health og:title: A Teen Boy's Diet of Fries and Sausage Led to Blindness, a New Case Study Says og:description: It also calls attention to a rare form of eating disorder og:url: https://time.com/5667374/poor-diet-blindness-case-study/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ac24ea41649fb64/698878bbcd1bba41016fee84/french-fries-2-junk-food-diet-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2500 og:image:height: 1406 og:image:alt: french-fries-2-junk-food-diet-health-motto-stock og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Teen Boy's Diet of Fries and Sausage Led to Blindness, a New Case Study Says twitter:description: It also calls attention to a rare form of eating disorder twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ac24ea41649fb64/698878bbcd1bba41016fee84/french-fries-2-junk-food-diet-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Teen Boy's Diet of Fries and Sausage Led to Blindness, According to a New Case Study > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5deb9eb5-d77f-4134-816c-44e2ab8d8a9a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5deb9eb5-d77f-4134-816c-44e2ab8d8a9a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=5deb9eb5-d77f-4134-816c-44e2ab8d8a9a&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Sep 3, 2019 5:45 PM UTC  Molly Cranna for TIME  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Sep 3, 2019 5:45 PM UTC [A new case study](https://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2749497/blindness-caused-junk-food-diet) highlights a serious, though rare, side effect of [a poor diet](https://time.com/5589702/processed-foods-weight-gain-diet/): blindness. In the _Annals of Internal Medicine_, a group of researchers from the University of Bristol in the U.K. report the unusual case of a teenage boy whose diet was so poor, it led to serious optic nerve damage and vision loss. The boy first reported fatigue to his doctors when he was 14\. He was deficient in vitamin B12 but had few other health issues, so he received only vitamin B12 injections and dietary counseling. The next year, he began to experience hearing and vision disturbances, but doctors were unable to find a clear cause. After two years of worsening eyesight and eventual blindness, the boy was referred to a neuro-ophthalmologist. At that time, doctors found signs of continuing vitamin B12 deficiency, as well as other nutritional deficiencies—and, upon interviewing the boy about his diet, found that “since elementary school, he would not eat certain textures of food.” The patient was mostly subsisting on [french fries](https://time.com/4811136/fried-potatoes-mortality-study/), Pringles, white bread, ham and [sausage](https://time.com/4086823/processed-meat-red-cancer-who/), according to the case report. Diet-related vision loss is fairly common among populations where poverty and food insecurity are widespread. When it occurs among people in developed nations, it’s typically related to an inability to absorb certain nutrients, or combined with alcohol or tobacco use. A purely diet-related case of vision loss is rare—especially in a young, otherwise healthy patient living in a rich country. The authors theorize that the boy’s extremely limited diet led to deficiencies in B vitamins and copper, which became severe enough to contribute to nerve damage and vision loss. “The visual loss is reversible in the early stages. The problem with this case is that his poor diet continued over several years,” says case study co-author Dr. Denize Atan, a neuro-ophthalmologist who treated the patient at Bristol Eye Hospital. “To give some perspective, he had a poor diet \[starting\] from age 10 to 11 but only started to develop symptoms age 14\. It takes this long to deplete your body’s stores of these vitamins.” In this case, the boy’s vision did not return, even with nutritional supplements. The case report highlights not only the necessity of a [balanced diet](https://time.com/5564574/supplements-vitamins-health/), but also a little-discussed form of disordered eating, one that isn’t necessarily related to weight or body image. “‘Fussy eating’ that is restricted to junk foods and causes multiple nutritional deficiencies is an eating disorder,” the authors write. People who are not interested in food or strongly dislike certain textures may fall into this category, according to the report. When patients report very restrictive diets, doctors should be aware of the full range of potential consequences, Atan says. “A good rule of thumb is to assume someone with a poor diet and at least one deficiency is likely to have others too and to treat them all—not just the one you have detected in a single test,” she says. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5667374/poor-diet-blindness-case-study/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5667374/poor-diet-blindness-case-study/"},"headline":"A Teen Boy's Diet of Fries and Sausage Led to Blindness, According to a New Case Study","datePublished":"2019-09-03T17:45:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T07:17:28.829Z","description":"It also calls attention to a rare type of eating disorder","url":"https://time.com/5667374/poor-diet-blindness-case-study/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ac24ea41649fb64/698878bbcd1bba41016fee84/french-fries-2-junk-food-diet-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6ac24ea41649fb64/698878bbcd1bba41016fee84/french-fries-2-junk-food-diet-health.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"french-fries-2-junk-food-diet-health-motto-stock","caption":"french-fries-2-junk-food-diet-health-motto-stock","creditText":"Molly Cranna for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5667374/poor-diet-blindness-case-study/","name":"A Teen Boy's Diet of Fries and Sausage Led to Blindness, According to a New Case Study"}}]}] ```