The Effect of Fast Food Restaurants on Obesity and Weight Gain
Open accessAbstract
We investigate the health consequences of changes in the supply of fast food using the exact geographical location of fast food restaurants.Specifically, we ask how the supply of fast food affects the obesity rates of 3 million school children and the weight gain of over 3 million pregnant women.We find that among 9th grade children, a fast food restaurant within a tenth of a mile of a school is associated with at least a 5.2 percent increase in obesity rates.There is no discernable effect at .25 miles and at .5 miles.Among pregnant women, models with mother fixed effects indicate that a fast food restaurant within a half mile of her residence results in a 1.6 percent increase in the probability of gaining over 20 kilos, with a larger effect at .1 miles.The effect is significantly larger for African-American and less educated women.For both school children and mothers, the presence of non-fast food restaurants is uncorrelated with weight outcomes.Moreover, proximity to future fast food restaurants is uncorrelated with current obesity and weight gain, conditional on current proximity to fast food.The implied effects of fast-food on caloric intake are at least one order of magnitude larger for students than for mothers, consistent with smaller travel cost for adults.
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A small number of cross-sectional studies in children found presence of a fast-food restaurant near school (≤0.8 km) was associated with higher BMI and prevalence of overweight/obesity.
“These studies found that the presence of a fast-food restaurant near school (≤0.8 km) was associated with a higher BMI and prevalence of overweight/obesity.”
From Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (2012) · cites this paper as [307]
In a US study among pregnant women from 3 states, presence of a fast-food restaurant close to home (within 0.8 km) was associated with greater weight gain.
“In a US study among pregnant women from 3 states, the presence of a fast-food restaurant close to home (within 0.8 km) was associated with greater weight gain,307”
From Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (2012) · cites this paper as [307]
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Sorted by citations
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- Authors
- Currie, J., DellaVigna, S., Moretti, E., & Pathania, V.
- Affiliations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Venue
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Publisher
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Published
- 2009-02
- OpenAlex
- W3121406221
- Cited by
- 130
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 5
- Type
- report
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
- London School of Economics and Political Science Research Online (London School of Economics and Political Science) (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Economics of Agriculture and Food Markets
- Keywords
- fast food restaurants, obesity, weight gain, elementary school students, pregnant women, energy intake, travel cost, African American women, educational attainment, food supply
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