Childhood obesity, is fast food exposure a factor? 2022

Peter J Dolton, and Wiktoria Tafesse
Department of Economics, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9SL, UK; National Institute of Economic and Social Research, 2 Dean Trench Street, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HE, UK.

Access to fast food has often been blamed for the rise in obesity which in turn has motivated policies to curb the spread of fast food. However, robust evidence in this area is scarce, particularly using data outside of the US. It is difficult to estimate a causal effect of fast food given spatial sorting and ever-present exposure. We investigate whether the residential access to fast food increased BMI of adolescents at a time when fast food restaurants started to open in the UK. The time period presents the study with large spatial and temporal differences in exposure as well as plausibly exogenous variation. We merge data on the location and timing of the first openings of all fast food outlets in the UK from 1968-1986, with data on objectively measured BMI from the 1970 British Cohort Survey. The relationship between adolescent BMI and the distance from the respondents' homes and time since opening, is studied using OLS and Instrumental Variables regression. We find that fast food exposure had no effect on BMI. Extensive robustness checks do not change our conclusion.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D012111 Residence Characteristics Elements of residence that characterize a population. They are applicable in determining need for and utilization of health services. Community,Domicile,Living Arrangements,Neighborhood,Place of Birth,Residential Selection,Arrangement, Living,Birth Place,Communities,Domiciles,Living Arrangement,Neighborhoods,Residence Characteristic
D012147 Restaurants An establishment where meals are cooked, sold and served to customers. Restaurant
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D015331 Cohort Studies Studies in which subsets of a defined population are identified. These groups may or may not be exposed to factors hypothesized to influence the probability of the occurrence of a particular disease or other outcome. Cohorts are defined populations which, as a whole, are followed in an attempt to determine distinguishing subgroup characteristics. Birth Cohort Studies,Birth Cohort Study,Closed Cohort Studies,Cohort Analysis,Concurrent Studies,Historical Cohort Studies,Incidence Studies,Analysis, Cohort,Cohort Studies, Closed,Cohort Studies, Historical,Studies, Closed Cohort,Studies, Concurrent,Studies, Historical Cohort,Analyses, Cohort,Closed Cohort Study,Cohort Analyses,Cohort Studies, Birth,Cohort Study,Cohort Study, Birth,Cohort Study, Closed,Cohort Study, Historical,Concurrent Study,Historical Cohort Study,Incidence Study,Studies, Birth Cohort,Studies, Cohort,Studies, Incidence,Study, Birth Cohort,Study, Closed Cohort,Study, Cohort,Study, Concurrent,Study, Historical Cohort,Study, Incidence
D057140 Fast Foods Prepared food that is ready to eat or partially prepared food that has a final preparation time of a few minutes or less. Convenience Foods,Meals, Ready-To-Eat,Ready-Prepared Foods,Ready-To-Eat Meals,Convenience Food,Fast Food,Food, Convenience,Food, Fast,Food, Ready-Prepared,Foods, Convenience,Foods, Fast,Foods, Ready-Prepared,Meal, Ready-To-Eat,Meals, Ready To Eat,Ready Prepared Foods,Ready To Eat Meals,Ready-Prepared Food,Ready-To-Eat Meal
D063766 Pediatric Obesity BODY MASS INDEX in children (ages 2-12) and in adolescents (ages 13-18) that is grossly above the recommended cut-off for a specific age and sex. For infants less than 2 years of age, obesity is determined based on standard weight-for-length percentile measures. Childhood Obesity,Adolescent Obesity,Adolescent Overweight,Child Obesity,Childhood Onset Obesity,Childhood Overweight,Infant Obesity,Infant Overweight,Infantile Obesity,Obesity in Adolescence,Obesity in Childhood,Obesity, Adolescent,Obesity, Child,Obesity, Childhood,Obesity, Childhood Onset,Obesity, Infant,Obesity, Infantile,Obesity, Pediatric,Overweight, Adolescent,Overweight, Childhood,Overweight, Infant

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