Junk food not only hurts your health but also your memory, according to a new study.

The study by Margaret Morris, the head of pharmacology at the University of NSW, has found that eating a diet loaded with saturated fat and sugar may have an immediate effect on the brain's cognitive ability and may cause memory loss.

Morris examined memory in rats and found that exposure to junk food over just six days reduced spatial recognition or ability to notice when an object had been moved to a new location, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Morris found that after consuming a high sugar and fat diet for one week, the hippocampus, the brain structure which is critical for learning and memory, had increased inflammation.

The study also suggested that the damage was not reversed when the rats were switched back to a healthy diet.