Fast Food Outlets Research Articles

Does fast-food outlet density differ by area-level disadvantage in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia?

Socio-economic spatial patterning of fast-food outlets can result in disparities in the availability and access of food across geographic areas, contributing to health inequalities. This study investigated whether area-level socio-economic disparities exist in fast-food availability across the Perth metropolitan region of Western Australia. Fast-food outlet locations were sourced from Perth Local Governments in 2018/2019. All Perth suburbs (n=328) were allocated a decile ranking based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics Socio-Economic Index for Areas with decile 1 indicating relatively greater disadvantage and decile 10 indicating a relative lack of disadvantage. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models, adjusted for suburb area and population density, were used to investigate the association between area-level disadvantage decile and availability of fast-food outlets. A socio-economic gradient was identified; for every unit increase in disadvantage decile (ie a reduction in relative disadvantage), the count of fast-food outlets decreased by 6% (P<.01), and the count of the "top ranking" fast-food chains (ie McDonalds, KFC, Hungry Jacks and Red Rooster) decreased by 10% (P<.001). Consistent with evidence internationally and from within Australia, socio-economic spatial patterning of fast-food outlet availability was shown to exist in Perth, with greater fast-food availability in areas with more relative socio-economic disadvantage. SO WHAT?: To address health inequities associated with fast-food consumption, policy and practice changes are needed that manage fast-food outlet proliferation in areas of greater socio-economic disadvantage.

“Now I just need something sweet”: Racism, emotional eating, and health among African Americans

BackgroundThe Environmental Affordances Model theorizes that systemic racism disproportionately exposes African Americans in the United States to chronic everyday stressors (e.g., individual racism) while simultaneously shaping the availability of coping resources (e.g., fast food outlets) and engagement in self-regulatory strategies (e.g., emotional eating). Greater engagement in self-regulatory strategies is theorized to preserve mental health while contributing to medical morbidities and mortality. ObjectiveHowever, few studies have tested the Environmental Affordances Model, limiting our understanding of how the proposed pathways operate in the lives of African Americans. MethodsIn the present study, the associations between systemic racism (institutional racism, cultural racism, neighborhood disadvantage), chronic everyday stressors (exposure to individual racism), emotional eating, and mental (anxiety symptomatology) and physical (self-rated overall physical health) health are assessed in a sample of 751 African Americans aged 18 to 88. ResultsThe path analysis reveals that institutional and cultural racism are both positively associated with individual racism. Neighborhood disadvantage is inversely associated with individual racism. Individual racism is significantly associated with greater anxiety symptomatology but is unrelated to self-rated overall physical health. Institutional and cultural racism are associated with emotional eating although individual racism and neighborhood disadvantage are not. Moreover, engagement in emotional eating exacerbates, rather than mitigates, the impacts of individual racism on anxiety symptomatology. ConclusionsWe conclude that institutional and cultural racism contribute to individual racism experiences and emotional eating whereas emotional eating exacerbates associations among individual racism and anxiety symptomatology.

Isolated Destination: Life in Western Australia in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Western Australia, the largest state covering a third of the landmass of Australia has escaped much of the morbidity and deaths of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was made possible due to its draconian measures in keeping the virus at bay through interstate and border closures and high vaccination rates. Domestic tourism has flourished as West Australians, unable to travel outside the state spend their dollars on visiting local attractions. Restaurants, cafes, bars and fast food outlets also do a roaring trade for the same reason.

Economy Ala Carte

Looking at economic issues in a fragmented way is today the equivalent of asking to order a la carte in a fast-food outlet

Food environments and obesity: A geospatial analysis of the South Asia Biobank, income and sex inequalities

IntroductionIn low-middle income countries (LMICs) the role of food environments on obesity has been understudied. We address this gap by 1) examining the effect of food environments on adults’ body size (BMI, waist circumference) and obesity; 2) measuring the heterogeneity of such effects by income and sex. MethodsThis cross-sectional study analysed South Asia Biobank surveillance and environment mapping data for 12,167 adults collected between 2018 and 2020 from 33 surveillance sites in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Individual-level data (demographic, socio-economic, and health characteristics) were combined with exposure to healthy and unhealthy food environments measured with geolocations of food outlets (obtained through ground-truth surveys) within 300 m buffer zones around participants' homes. Multivariate regression models were used to assess association of exposure to healthy and unhealthy food environments on waist circumference, BMI, and probability of obesity for the total sample and stratified by sex and income. FindingsThe presence of a higher share of supermarkets in the neighbourhood was associated with a reduction in body size (BMI, β = - 3∙23; p < 0∙0001, and waist circumference, β = −5∙99; p = 0∙0212) and obesity (Average Marginal Effect (AME): −0∙18; p = 0∙0009). High share of fast-food restaurants in the neighbourhood was not significantly associated with body size, but it significantly increased the probability of obesity measured by BMI (AME: 0∙09; p = 0∙0234) and waist circumference (AME: 0∙21; p = 0∙0021). These effects were stronger among females and low-income individuals. InterpretationThe results suggest the availability of fast-food outlets influences obesity, especially among female and lower-income groups. The availability of supermarkets is associated with reduced body size and obesity, but their effects do not outweigh the role of fast-food outlets. Policies should target food environments to promote better diets and reduce obesity.

Five years of national policies: progress towards tackling obesity in England.

Obesity is a major burden on the health system in England and the rest of the UK. Obesity prevalence is high in adults and children and most of the UK population are consuming more energy than required, and not meeting other dietary recommendations, including those for saturated fat, free sugars, fibre, oily fish and fruit and vegetables. Over the past 5 years, a number of cross-government policies, both promoting voluntary action and legislative, have been put in place to tackle diet-related health and obesity. The food environment is complex with many influencing factors, some of which act through individual automatic choices. Other factors such as accessibility, advertising, promotion and nudging drive increased food and drink purchases. With continual changes in the food environment favouring fast-food outlets and meal delivery companies alongside the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on diets and physical activity levels, further governmental action is likely needed to deliver sustained improvements to diet and health.

Service quality delivery and consumers’ choice of fast-food outlets

This study examined the effect of service quality delivery on consumer’s choice of fast foods outlets. Cross-sectional survey research design was adopted. Primary data was collected from respondents using structured questionnaire. Simple regression in the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was adopted to analyze the data collected. Consequently, it was found that service tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy had significant effects on consumer’s choice of fast foods. Thus, it was recommended amongst others, that fast food outlets should be more responsive to consumers’ service requirements by rapidly eliciting and resolving consumers’ enquiries and complaints; consistently deliver fast, strong and reliable service; ensure their personnel treat consumers with politeness and consideration at every point of service encounter and constantly seek ways to offer freshness in order to remain relevant in the market place.

Is having a 20-minute neighbourhood associated with eating out behaviours and takeaway home delivery? A cross-sectional analysis of ProjectPLAN

BackgroundThrough improved service provision and accessibility, 20-min neighbourhoods (20MNs) aim to enable people to meet most of their daily (non-work) needs within 20 min from home. Associations between 20MNs and food practices remain unknown. This study examines links with the frequency and location of eating out behaviours as well as the frequency of home food delivery.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used data from 769 adults from the Places and Locations for Activity and Nutrition study (ProjectPLAN) conducted in Melbourne and Adelaide, Australia, between 2018 and 2019. Outcomes were 1) visit frequency to i) cafés, ii) restaurants, bars or bistros, iii) major chain fast food outlets and iv) takeaway outlets to purchase food; 2) total number of different types of out-of-home food outlets visited; 3) use frequency of home food delivery services; 4) distance from home to the most frequented out-of-home food outlets. Exposure was whether participants had a 20MN (areas with high service/amenity provision) or a non-20MN (areas with low service/amenity provision). Ordinal regression models were fitted for the frequency outcomes. Poisson regression models were fitted for the number of different outlet types. Linear and spatial regression models were fitted for the distance outcomes.ResultsResults suggested no differences in frequency of visitations to out-of-home food outlets and use of food delivery services between those with a 20MN and those with a non-20MN. Yet, those with a 20MN were more likely to use a greater number of different types of outlets on a weekly basis. Where a regular eating out location was reported, it was nearer to home for those with a 20MN.ConclusionsThis study provides evidence supportive of 20MNs potentially facilitating more localised food practices, however, 20MNs may also encourage greater cumulative frequency of meals out across a variety of out-of-home food providers.

Is Food Outlet Accessibility a Significant Factor of Fruit and Vegetable Intake? Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Province-Wide Study in Quebec, Canada

Unhealthy eating habits can compromise one’s health and generate significant individual, social, and health services costs. The adoption of healthy eating habits depends on individual and environmental determinants related to the characteristics of the physical, economic, political, and socio-cultural environments. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess the effect of the physical environment, more precisely the effect of food outlet accessibility, on diet. A subsample of the CARTaGENE survey, composed of 7783 adults aged 40 to 70 years old residing in four cities in Quebec (Canada), was used. Measures of proximity as well as absolute and relative measures of the density of retail food outlets, fast-food outlets, and convenience stores near participants’ residences were used to analyze fruit and vegetable (F&amp;V) intake. Univariate logistic regression showed that the minimal recommended portions of F&amp;V intake (5 or more portions) were significantly associated with all seven measures of the retail food environment (OR between 0.76 and 1.27). However, these relations were mostly non-significant when confounding variables were considered in the analysis except and counterintuitively for proximity to the nearest convenience store and density of convenience stores. Variables most significantly correlated to F&amp;V intake were individual-level confounding variables of sex, income, and education. These results show that more research is needed to understand factors explaining F&amp;V intake in this population.

Place matters: Out-of-home demand for food and beverages in Great Britain

Fiscal policies to influence consumption of food and beverages are increasing globally. Most food demand studies focus on understanding consumer response in the context of food and beverages consumed at home. Yet food and beverages consumed outside of the home play an increasing part in our diets, and demand elasticities for these settings are crucial for assessing the potential impact of such fiscal measures on promoting healthier diets. Utilising a large out-of-home food purchase dataset from Great Britain in 2016–17, this paper analyses the demand for seven food groups across four outlet types, including restaurants, fast-food outlets, food retails and other outlets. We use a demand system approach to estimate price and expenditure elasticites of demand, along with procedures to account for censoring, expenditure and price endogeneity. Our results indicate substantial variations in consumer responses across outlet types. Demand for main meals is expenditure and price elastic in restaurants but inelastic in fast-food outlets. For sugary drinks, the demand is generally price elastic except in fast food outlets. These differences across outlet types highlight the complexity in studying out-of-home food and beverage consumption and the importance of accounting for where consumers buy from when designing, implementing and evaluating consumer responses to fiscal measures.

Pengaruh Lingkungan Bisnis Dan Strategi Operasional Terhadap Kinerja Operasional Pada Outlet Fast Food Di Kabupaten Bekasi

The business environment and operational strategy have an important role for a company, namely as the influence of all activities or activities in achieving the goals of a company. Therefore, companies are required to be able to optimize their operational performance. This study aims to determine whether the business environment and operational strategies partially and simultaneously affect operational performance.The research method used is by distributing questionnaires given to 35 managers and assistant managers in each outlet as respondents to obtain information and to collect data by asking each respondent to answer each statement listed on the questionnaire given.Based on the results of this study partially variable X1 and X2 plays an important role for the variable Y. however it has no positive effect on Y, because x1 has a Sig. obtained is 0.500 &gt; 0.05 and the t value is - 0.682 &lt; 1.3433, and X2 has a Sig. obtained 0.356 &gt; 0.05 and the t value is -0.937 &lt; 1.3433. So it can be concluded that H1 and H2 are rejected. Based on the results of this study simultaneously the variables of the business environment and operational strategy with the Sig. 0.539 &gt; 0.05, which means that it is greater than α = 0.05 and the analysis of the F test results is 0.631. So it is concluded that the business environment and operational strategy do not have a significant effect on operational performance simultaneously. This result implies that the business environment (X1) and operational strategy (X2) in explaining or influencing operational performance (Y) at fast food outlets in Bekasi District are 3,8% while 96,2% is explained by other factors outside the business environment and operational strategy, such as work environment, employee morale, innovation strategy, motivation, work discipline, HR management strategies, and supply chain.

The nutrition transition, food retail transformations, and policy responses to overnutrition in the East Asia region: A descriptive review.

The East Asia region is facing an increasing burden of overweight, obesity and related noncommunicable diseases, resulting from an ongoing nutrition transition. This study aimed to document the growing burden of overweight and obesity, and the accompanying dietary shifts, in the East Asia region and describe the policy responses to this. We present noncommunicable disease risk factor collaboration data on trends in the burden of malnutrition, and Euromonitor International data on trends in dietary purchases, in the East Asia region. We searched the NOURISHING and GINA databases to identify food and nutrition policies implemented in these countries. There is an ongoing nutrition transition in the East Asia region, notably in upper-middle and lower-middle income countries. The prevalence of overweight, obesity, and accompanying health conditions, purchases of ultra-processed foods and beverages, and purchasing from supermarkets, fast-food and takeaway outlets, and other convenience retailers, are increasing. The policy response to this nutrition transition is limited, with the majority of policies implemented in higher-income countries. East Asian countries are facing a growing burden of malnutrition, due in part to the dietary shifts occurring here. An ecological approach to policy intervention is needed to drive transformative food systems change.

Determinants of Customer Patronage of Fast Food Outlets in Benin City

This study critically examined the factors influencing customer patronage of fast food outlets in Benin City. Specifically, the independent variables examined include quality of service delivery, brand image and price and how they relate to customer patronage. The study adopted survey research design. The population includes all customers that patronise fast food outlets in Benin City, Edo State. Fifty (50) respondents each were chosen in four fast food outlets namely: Mr. Biggs, Mat Ice, Kada Food and Omega Food to have a sample size of two hundred (200) out of which 188 questionnaires were found useable, amounting to 94%. The data analyses were done using both descriptive and inferential statistics. All analyses were done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 22.0) software. The study revealed that there are positive and significant relationship between the independent variables (service quality and brand image) and customer patronage except price that showed negative and not significant relationship with customer patronage. Based on these findings, the study recommended that fast food operators should continue to maintain high quality service delivery that will enhance the brand image of selected fast food outlets.

Associations between the fast-food environment and diabetes prevalence in the Netherlands: a cross-sectional study

Diabetes is a major health concern and is influenced by lifestyle, which can be affected by the neighbourhood environment. Specifically, a fast-food environment can influence eating behaviours and thus diabetes prevalence. Therefore, our aim was to assess the relationship between fast-food environment and diabetes prevalence for urban and rural environments in the Netherlands, using multiple indicators and buffer sizes. In this cross-sectional study, data on a nationwide sample of adults older than 19 years in the Netherlands were taken from the 2012 Dutch national health survey (from Public Health Monitor), in which participants were surveyed on topics related to health and lifestyle behaviour. Fast-food outlet exposures were determined within street-network buffers of 100 m, 400 m, 1000 m, and 1500 m around residential addresses. For each of these buffers, three indicators were calculated: presence (yes or no) of fast-food outlets, fast-food outlet density, and ratio. Logistic regression analyses were carried out to assess associations of these indicators with diabetes, adjusting for potential confounders and stratifying into urban and rural areas. 387 195 adults were surveyed, 284 793 of whom were included in the study. 22 951 (8%) reported having diabetes. Fast-food outlet exposures were positively associated with diabetes prevalence. We did not observe large differences between urban and rural areas. The effect estimates were small for all indicators. For example, in the 400 m buffer in the urban environment, the odds ratio (OR) for having diabetes among people with a fast-food outlet present compared with those without, was 1·006 (95% CI 1·003-1·009) using the presence indicator. The presence indicator showed higher effect estimates and the most consistent results across buffer sizes (ranging from OR 1·005 [95% CI 1·000-1·010] with the 1000 m buffer to 1·016 [1·005-1·028] with the 1500 m buffer in urban areas and from 1·002 [0·998-1·005] with the 1500 m buffer to 1·009 [1·006-1·018] with the 100 m buffer in rural areas) compared with the density and ratio indicators. The results confirm the evidence that the fast-food outlet environment is a diabetes risk factor. All data included were at the individual level and the variability was ensured by the spatial distribution and number of participants. In this study, we only accounted for residential exposure because we were unable to account for exposure outside the residential environment. The findings of this study encourage local governments to consider the potential adverse effects of fast-food exposures and aim at minimising unhealthy food access. Global Geo Health Data Centre, Utrecht University, Netherlands.

No new fast-food outlets allowed! The effect of local area planning policy on the healthiness of the local food environment

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Does Using Planning Policy to Restrict Fast Food Outlets Reduce Inequalities in Childhood Overweight and Obesity?

Does Using Planning Policy to Restrict Fast Food Outlets Reduce Inequalities in Childhood Overweight and Obesity?

Consumer Perception Towards Localization of MNC Fast Food Chain in Pakistan

The study tests the consumer preferences in Pakistan (a developing economy) to know about the consumer’s choice and localization of MNC to have clear understanding of entering in to the new market following the local culture of the country. Study focuses on the multinational fast food outlets. The research is grounded on both primary &amp; secondary information and primary data is collected randomly from 412 fast food consumers through closed ended questionnaire and analyzed through simple percentage analysis and SPSS to know about the relationship with different factors like, location, Quality, consumer satisfaction and preferences. Findings show that consumer’s choice is influenced by quality, price as well as location. Study also shows that McDonalds is a high quality restaurant according to the consumers perception and more expensive than any other MNC outlet in Pakistan, consumers prefer to visit KFC and McDonalds frequently the consumers in Pakistan prefer food with the price conscious attitude. The main thing for the fast food restaurants is the food which is served quickly and finds it more advantageous. According to this study location accessibility is also a motive for consumers when they choose a particular outlet, closer restaurants are more numerous for easy take away.

The association between fast-food outlet proximity and density and Body Mass Index: Findings from 147,027 Lifelines Cohort Study participants

Unhealthy food environments may contribute to an elevated Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a chronic disease risk factor. We examined the association between residential fast-food outlet exposure, in terms of proximity and density, and BMI in the Dutch adult general population. Additionally, we investigated to what extent this association was modified by urbanisation level. In this cross-sectional study, we linked residential addresses of baseline adult Lifelines Cohort participants (n = 147,027) to fast-food outlet locations using geo-coding. We computed residential fast-food outlet proximity, and density within 500 m, 1, 3, and 5 km. We used stratified (urban versus rural areas) multilevel linear regression models, adjusting for age, sex, partner status, education, employment, neighbourhood deprivation, and address density. The mean BMI of participants was 26.1 (SD 4.3) kg/m2. Participants had a mean (SD) age of 44.9 (13.0), 57.3% was female, and 67.0% lived in a rural area. Having two or more (urban areas) or five or more (rural areas) fast-food outlets within 1 km was associated with a higher BMI (B = 0.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.03, 0.62; B = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.36, respectively). Participants in urban and rural areas with a fast-food outlet within <250 m had a higher BMI (B = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.57; B = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.31, respectively). In rural areas, participants also had a higher BMI when having at least one fast-food outlet within 500 m (B = 0.10, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.18). In conclusion, fast-food outlet exposure within 1 km from the residential address was associated with BMI in urban and rural areas. Also, fast-food outlet exposure within 500 m was associated with BMI in rural areas, but not in urban areas. In the future, natural experiments should investigate changes in the fast-food environment over time.

The Association between Fast Food Outlets and Overweight in Adolescents Is Confounded by Neighbourhood Deprivation: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study.

The aim of our study is to utilise longitudinal data to explore if the association between the retail fast food environment and overweight in adolescents is confounded by neighbourhood deprivation. Data from the Millennium Cohort Study for England were obtained for waves 5 (ages 11/12; 2011/12; n = 13,469) and 6 (ages 14/15; 2014/15; n = 11,884). Our outcome variable was overweight/obesity defined using age and sex-specific International Obesity Task Force cut points. Individuals were linked, based on their residential location, to data on the density of fast food outlets and neighbourhood deprivation. Structural Equation Models were used to model associations and test for observed confounding. A small positive association was initially detected between fast food outlets and overweight (e.g., at age 11/12, Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.0006, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) = 1.0002–1.0009). Following adjusting for the confounding role of neighbourhood deprivation, this association was non-significant. Individuals who resided in the most deprived neighbourhoods had higher odds of overweight than individuals in the least deprived neighbourhoods (e.g., at age 11/12 OR = 1.95, 95% CIs = 1.64–2.32). Neighbourhood deprivation was also positively associated to the density of fast food outlets (at age 11/12 Incidence Rate Ratio = 3.03, 95% CIs = 2.80–3.28).

Socio-economic patterning of food and drink advertising at public transport stops in Edinburgh, UK.

Outdoor advertisements for food and drink products form a large part of the food environment and they disproportionately promote unhealthy products. However, less is known about the social patterning of such advertisements. The main aim of this study was to explore the socio-economic patterning of food and drink advertising at bus stops in Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh. Bus stop advertisements were audited to identify food/drink adverts and classify them by food/drink category (i.e. 'advert category'). This data were then linked to area-based deprivation and proximity measures. Neighbourhood deprivation was measured using the bus stop x/y co-ordinates, which were converted to postcodes to identify the matching 2012 deprivation level via the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. Distance to schools and leisure centres were also collected using location data. Generalised estimating equations and linear regression analyses were used to assess associations between the promotion of advert categories and deprivation and proximity to schools/leisure centres, respectively. Edinburgh city, United Kingdom. 561 food/drink advertisements were identified across 349 bus stops, with 8 advertisement categories noted and included in the final analysis, including alcohol, fast food outlets and confectionary. The majority of adverts were for 'unhealthy' food and drink categories, however there was no evidence for any socio-economic patterning of these advertisements. There was no evidence of a relationship between advertisements and proximity to schools and leisure centres. While there is no evidence for food and drink advertising being patterned by neighbourhood deprivation, the scale of unhealthy advertising is an area for policy evaluations and interventions on the control of such outdoor advertising.