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Increased fast-food access causes obesity epidemic
Kasi Johnson and Blair Rummel
Department of Health, Exercise and Rehabilitative Sciences, Winona State University, Winona, Minnesota 55987
Introduction
Results
Incidence of obesity has been on the rise over the past
decade. 15% of youth in the U.S. and one-third of adults are
obese (CBS News). This trend has lead to an increase in
health concerns not only for adults, but for children alike.
This health disparity is a complex, multi-causational issue,
but one of the most important factors may be that of
unhealthy environments surrounding Americans today. The
explosion of fast food restaurants and convenience foods
that are inexpensive and are filled with preservatives may be
a culprit for this epidemic (See Figure 1). According to Time
Magazine: Healthland, there is now a 5:1 ratio of fast-food
restaurants to supermarkets in the U.S. Also according to
NationMaster, there are now 12,804 McDonaldвЂ™s restaurants
in the United States, more than any other country in the
world. For these reasons, obesity rates in the United States
are directly linked to an increase in fast-food availability and
consumption
Seven studies and four websites were analyzed to determine
our results as follows:
Figure 1. This map
developed by the
Business Insider War
Room shows amount
of fast food
restaurants per capita
in the U.S. ranging
from most restaurants
per 1,000 residents in
dark red, to fewest
restaurants in light
pink
Materials and methods
Studies were found relating to obesity and its link to fastfood through the database PubMed on May 21, 2012. Using
the key words, вЂ�fast-food,вЂ™ вЂ�restaurants,вЂ™ and вЂ�obesityвЂ™ the
search was narrowed down. Seven studies were chosen to
conduct a systematic review of finding scientific evidence
related to the topic. The studies evaluated were published
between the years 2003 and 2012. Studies containing crosssectional and quasi-experimental design relating to multiple
facets of the United States population were considered in
this systematic review.
Figure 2. вЂњPubMed
comprises more than
21 million citations
for biomedical
literature from
MEDLINE, life
science journals and
online books.вЂќ
Bauer, et al (2012)
вЂњParental Employment and Work-Family StressвЂќ aimed to find
the association between parental employment status with the
aspects of family food environment and how that influences
eating habits. The study used a cross sectional design to
distribute 4,777 surveys to parents and guardians in the
metropolitan areas of the Midwestern United States. The
results of the study were:
вЂў Jobs with higher stress developed poor breakfast habits
вЂў It was determined that the family food environment has one
of the largest influences on a childвЂ™s eating habits and
prevention of weight gain.
Beaulieu, D. and Godin, G. (2012)
вЂњStaying in School for Lunch Instead of Eating in Fast-Food
RestaurantsвЂќ aimed to use intervention strategies in order to
encourage high school students to eat lunch at school instead
of at fast-food restaurants. The quasi-experimental design
consisted of pre and post-test. Results of the study were:
вЂў Prevention strategies were successful in increasing selfefficacy of students
вЂў Students were able to realize the heath risks involved with
eating at fast-food restaurants
Bowman, S. A. and Vinyard, B. T. (2003)
вЂќFast-Food Consumption of U.S. AdultsвЂќ aimed to compare
the diet quality of adults that ate fast-food with those who
prepared food at home in order to determine whether eating
out increases overweight status. A cross-sectional survey was
given to 9,872 individuals over the age of 20, resulting in:
вЂў Statistically significant p-values of < 0.0001
вЂў Confidence level of 95%
вЂў Fast-food was associated with eathing meals high in
density and can lead to weight gain
Carpenter, C. and Davis, B. (2009)
вЂњProximity of Fast-Food Restaurant to SchoolsвЂќ aimed to examine
the relationship between fast food restaurants near schools and
obesity among middle and high school students. This cross sectional
analysis used the 2002-2005 California Healthy Kids Survey to
conclude:
вЂў Living in a poor quality food environment has negative effects
on adolescentsвЂ™ eating patterns and being overweight
вЂў Limiting the closeness of fast-food restaurants could help reduce
obesity
Fraser, L. K. (2012)
вЂњFast-Food and ObesityвЂќ aimed to assess a possible relationship
between eating fast-food and obesity. It also looked at access to
fast-food and peopleвЂ™s consumption. This cohort study followed
14,610 children from birth to age 13, when they acquired data. The
results of the study are as follows:
вЂў Students need increasing nutrition education to help them make
better food choices
Table 2. This table
shows the numbers of
girls and boys at ages
13 and 15 who
consumed fast food
and were obese.
Lee, H. (2012)
вЂќThe Role of Local Food Proximity In Explaining ObesityвЂќ aimed
to determine if proximity of poor food choices had a negative
impact on a childвЂ™s BMI over the course of five years from
kindergarten to fifth grade. This longitudinal cohort study used
11,400 students across the United States to determine their results.
She found:
вЂў This study claims that fast-food outlet exposure has no impact
on a childвЂ™s weight gain and neither does a childвЂ™s
socioeconomic status or ethnicity
вЂў Many biases were not discussed in the findings, possibly
skewing the results
Li, F. et al. (2009)
вЂњDoes Density of Neighborhood Fast-Food Outlets MatterвЂќ aimed
to compare the variations in obesity among adults who live in
neighborhoods of fast food outlets. This cross-sectional, multileveled survey randomly selected 1,221 residents whose average
age was 50-75 from 120 neighborhoods from the U.S. Census.
Results found were:
вЂў Fast-food outlets in neighborhoods were associated with
unhealthy lifestyles and increased risk of obesity
Table 1. Shows caloric and nurtrient intake for U.S.
adults over the age of 20 who consumed fast food.
Conclusions
Based on the findings from the seven studies and relating
websites, increased access to fast-food is a major underlying
cause of the obesity epidemic. The negative effects of fast
food affect anyone regardless of their age, race, gender, or
socioeconomic status.
These studies have proven that preventing overconsumption
of fast-food is one of the best ways to combat the obesity
epidemic in the United States.
Literature Cited
Bauer, K& Et. Al. (2012). Elsevier: Social Science & Medicine. Parental Employment and
Work-Family Stress: Association with Family Food Environments. Retrieved from
http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0277953612002936/1-s2.0-S0277953612002936main.pdf?_tid=a9d4ac08f5bb0233015acfc5e9c328d4&acdnat=1337644040_811444fd51
306900eebd1fe684dd7391
Beaulieu, D & Godin Gaston. (2012). Public Health Nutrition. Staying in School for Lunch
Instead of Eating in Fast-Food Restaurants. Retrieved from
http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPHN%2FS1368980012000821a.p
df&code=057e4abe046e3eb779829c68c457666d
Bowman, S. A. & Vinyard, B. T. (September 2003) Fast Food Consumtion of U.S. Adults:
Impact on Energy and Nutrient Intakes and Overweight Status. Jounal of the American
College of Nutrition, volume 23, number 2. Retrieved from
http://www.jacn.org/content/23/2/163.full
Carpenter, C. & Davis, B. (March 2009) Proximity of Fast-Food Restaurants to Schools and
Adolescent Obesity. American Journal of Public Health, volume 99, number 3. Retrieved
from http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2008.137638
CBS News: HealthWatch. (2009). Fast-Food Linked to Child Obesity. Retrieved from
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-204_162-591325.html
Fraser, Lorna K., Et. Al. (16 April 2012). Fast Food and Obesity: A spatial Analysis in a Large
Unites Kingdome Population of Children Aged 13-15. American Journal of Preventive
Medicine, volume 42, issue 5, pages e77-e85. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749379712001298
Hicken, Melanie. (2012). This Interactive Map Shows Exactly How Many Fast Food
Restaurants There Are In Every State. Retrieved from
http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-28/strategy/30669674_1_fast-food-foodchains-food-restaurants
Lee, H. (10 February 2012). The role of local food availability in explaining obesity risk
among young school-aged children. Social Schience and Medicine, volume 74, issue 8,
pages 1193-1203. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com.wsuproxy.mnpals.net/science/article/pii/S0277953612000
810
Li, F & Et. Al. (2009). National Institutes of Health. Obesity and the build environment: Does
the density of neighborhood fast-food outlets Matter? Retrieved from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2730045/pdf/nihms138445.pdf
Nationmaster.com (2012). McDonaldвЂ™s Restaurants (most recent) by Country. Retrieved from
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_mcd_res-food-mcdonalds-restaurants
Time, Heathland. (2011). Numbers 5 to 1. Retrieved from
(http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/12/the-ratio-of-fast-food-restaurants-to-grocerystores-in-america-is-51/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2730045/pdf/nihms138445.pdf
.Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Dr. Peter Sternberg for a great May
term in Epidemiology and to PubMed for helping us conduct
our research.
For further information
See the PubMed database or contact
[email protected] or [email protected]

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