Living in an area with more fast food outlets and convenience stores than supermarkets and grocers has been associated with obesity in a Canadian study published by BMC Public Health.
Correlation/causation misfire? Sure, unless you want to believe that the government should put up a fresh food stand within a half mile of your house to keep you from becoming obese.
John Spence from the University of Alberta, Canada, worked with a team of researchers to study associations between the 'Retail Food Environment Index' (RFEI) and levels of obesity. He said, "The RFEI is based upon a ratio of the number of fast-food restaurants and convenience stores to supermarkets and specialty food stores in a given radius around a person's house. We've shown that it correlates very well with the odds that that person may be obese."
The availability of fast food and scarcity of outlets for natural ingredients within a half mile of a person's home was shown to be associated with weight, while the RFEI within a one mile radius did not have the same effect. The researchers claim that this demonstrates that the proximity of the unhealthy environment is an important risk factor for obesity.
According to Spence, "These findings may help explain the observation that geographic concentration of fast-food restaurants is associated with mortality and hospital admissions for acute coronary events in Canada".
Fast-food is cheaper and more energy-dense per measure of weight than other healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables that are purchased in a grocery store. If governments want to reduce people's intake of these energy-efficient, but ultimately unhealthy 'meals', the authors recommend that they intervene to limit the creation of areas where tempting junk-food outlets are so much more prevalent than other shops.
They write, "A plausible policy option for decreasing the prevalence of obesity among adults is improving the retail food environment, possibly through zoning by-laws".
Article: 'Relation between local food environments and obesity among adults', John C Spence, Nicoleta Cutumisu, Joy Edwards, Kim D Raine and Karen Smoyer-Tomic, BMC Public Health (in press)
Comments
go or too tired to cook, and are therefore looking for products that
will cut down or eliminate food preparation time. According to Canadian
Food Trends to 2020, consumers are often on the go or too tired to
cook, and are therefore looking for products that will cut down or
eliminate food preparation time. Now, Canadian are demanding that the
convenience foods they buy be both tasty and nutritious. Consumer
interest in purchasing and eating more nutritious foods has grown in
recent years. Convenience food manufacturers are scrambling to meet the
demands of busy, health-conscious consumers by cutting trans fats,
using sugar substitutes, and creating low-calorie options. To cater to
consumers who want good food on the go, retailers are increasingly
selling products like veggies and dip, fruit, yogurt, and nuts in
single-serving sizes. So at least even if the convenient food are fast,
like a quick cash, they are now producing nutritious foods.
AndresE (not verified) | 06/20/09 | 03:15 AM
go or too tired to cook, and are therefore looking for products that
will cut down or eliminate food preparation time. According to Canadian
Food Trends to 2020, consumers are often on the go or too tired to
cook, and are therefore looking for products that will cut down or
eliminate food preparation time. Now, Canadian are demanding that the
convenience foods they buy be both tasty and nutritious. Consumer
interest in purchasing and eating more nutritious foods has grown in
recent years. Convenience food manufacturers are scrambling to meet the
demands of busy, health-conscious consumers by cutting trans fats,
using sugar substitutes, and creating low-calorie options. To cater to
consumers who want good food on the go, retailers are increasingly
selling products like veggies and dip, fruit, yogurt, and nuts in
single-serving sizes. So at least even if the convenient food are fast, they are now producing nutritious foods.