University of East Anglia found that children living close to fast food outlets are more likely to be obese or overweight.
This is especially true for older kids because they have easy access to fast food items sold at these outlets. It's no secret that kids prefer snacking on chips, pizza, burgers and fries rather than eating healthy food at home. These bad eating habits are mainly responsible for the growing childhood obesity rates in the United States.
For the new study, researchers from the University Of East Anglia (UEA) and the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) examined weight data of more than a million children and compared it with the availability of unhealthy food from outlets including fish and chip shops, burger bars, pizza places, and sweet shops.
"We found that the more unhealthy food outlets there are in a neighbourhood, the greater the number of overweight and obese children. The results were more pronounced in secondary school children who have more spending power to choose their own food," lead researcher Prof Andy Jones, from UEA's Norwich Medical School, said in statement. "But the association was reversed in areas with more healthy food options available."
Jones highlighted that the findings of this study were very important as childhood obesity is a major concern in almost all industrialized countries. It gives rise to health problems like childhood diabetes, orthopedic and cardiovascular problems along with being the cause of low self-esteem among obese kids. Moreover, almost 70 percent of obese and overweight kids tend to have weight issues as adults too.
According to the CDC, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. More than one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese.
Though it is a known fact that obesity caused due to fast food consumption is most common among socio-economically deprived populations, this is one of the first studies that looked at the connection between childhood obesity and accessibility to fast food outlets on a national scale.
These findings can also help influence planning strategies to create a healthier eating environment for children across the country.
"Public health policies to reduce obesity in children should incorporate strategies to prevent high concentrations of fast food and other unhealthy food outlets," authors of the study said. "But there is no quick fix - and any interventions for tackling childhood obesity and creating environments that are more supportive for both physical activity and better dietary choices must be part of the bigger picture looking at the whole obesity system."
The study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the MRC, the Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK.
Findings of the research were published in the journal Health and Place.
