Abstract
ObjectiveEating at "fast food" restaurants has increased and is linked to obesity. This study examined whether living or working near "fast food" restaurants is associated with body weight.MethodsA telephone survey of 1033 Minnesota residents assessed body height and weight, frequency of eating at restaurants, and work and home addresses. Proximity of home and work to restaurants was assessed by Global Index System (GIS) methodology.ResultsEating at "fast food" restaurants was positively associated with having children, a high fat diet and Body Mass Index (BMI). It was negatively associated with vegetable consumption and physical activity. Proximity of "fast food" restaurants to home or work was not associated with eating at "fast food" restaurants or with BMI. Proximity of "non-fast food" restaurants was not associated with BMI, but was associated with frequency of eating at those restaurants.ConclusionFailure to find relationships between proximity to "fast food" restaurants and obesity may be due to methodological weaknesses, e.g. the operational definition of "fast food" or "proximity", or homogeneity of restaurant proximity. Alternatively, the proliferation of "fast food" restaurants may not be a strong unique cause of obesity.
Highlights
Rapid increases in the prevalence of obesity in the US over the last 20 to 30 years have been well documented and their causes much discussed [1,2,3,4]
The variables used in the current analysis are reported height and weight from which Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated, gender, education, marital status, employment status, household size, number of children, hours of TV watched per week, frequency of reported dieting for weight control, days per week in which individuals reported being physically active for 30 minutes or more, frequency of eating at "fast food" restaurants, and frequency of eating at other restaurants
The average age of respondents was 46 years, average BMI was approximately 26 kg/m2, average family size was 2.6 individuals, average reported TV hours watched per week was 11.2, physical activity for 30 minutes or more was reported on 3.6 days per week on average, and participants mean reported frequency of dieting to control weight was about midway on a 5 point scale anchored by Always at one end and Never at the other
Summary
Rapid increases in the prevalence of obesity in the US over the last 20 to 30 years have been well documented and their causes much discussed [1,2,3,4]. One trend that has attracted particular attention in both the scientific and lay press is the dramatic increase in eating away from home, and at "fast food". The scientific case for "fast food" restaurants as a causal factor in obesity is based on several observations. Time trends in eating away from home roughly parallel the national time trends in obesity prevalence [5,6,7,8,9,10]. Cross-sectional and longitudinal data on self-reported "fast food" restaurant use per se and consumption of foods frequently sold at "fast food" restaurants (e.g. hamburgers and French fries) have been shown to be positively associated with body weight (page number not for citation purposes)
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