More Fast Food Options Make Residents Fatter
The higher the concentration of fast food restaurants in a city, the fatter its residents, according to a recent study from the University of Alberta.
"If you live in a city with more places to buy double-doubles, Big Macs and Mama Burgers, you're more likely to get really fat, new research from the University of Alberta confirms."
"For every extra fast-food restaurant per 10,000 people, a city's obesity rate goes up three per cent, said Sean Cash."
"Cash is a health economics professor who drew up an "obesity map" that plots obesity rates and the density of the top 10 fast-food chains in Canada."
"According to last year's Canadian Community Health Survey, Maritime residents were generally fatter and had more fast-food joints. St. John's, N.L., for instance, has an obesity rate of 36 per cent and 3.5 fast-food joints per 10,000 people. Saint John, N.B., ranked close with 35 per cent obesity and access to four outlets per 10,000 people."
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Studying Junk Food To Death
Somehow, we managed to reduce cigarette smoking without coming to any definitive conclusion about whether density of tobacco shops in a neighborhood was a cause or an effect of high rates of smoking. Once people knew smoking was unhealthy, once we had the surgeon general's warming on cigarette packs, once we raised cigarette taxes dramatically, and once we passed laws banning smoking in many public places, smoking declined.
I doubt if it would have helped to have a definitive conclusion about whether density of tobacco shops is a cause or an effect of smoking.
Charles Siegel
Junk food or junk science?
"I wouldn't say our study proves anything," said Cash, noting some cities buck the trend.
"It doesn't mean having access to a fast-food restaurant causes obesity, but it does suggest there's a relationship that we should be taking into account if we're trying to take action to lower obesity rates in Canada." Cash said.
Obesity is a serious problem that requires serious efforts to understand causal relationships and, if necessary, design remedial policies and programs. The good professor should go back to his lab and determine all of the factors that may contribute to the growth of girth. In fact, this particular canard (the density of fast food establishments)was suggested before Cash discovered it.
Quantifying canards and junk science.
In fact, this particular canard (the density of fast food establishments)was suggested before Cash discovered it.
No one is suggesting Cash discovered it. Cash is, rather, making a serious effort in quantifying obesity as a serious problem and attempting to understand causal relationships.
And if it is a canard, it is a quantitative canard. Hmmm...wait a minute: if you can quantify a canard, is it still a canard?
Best,
D
Or the reverse?
Is it supply or demand? The implication of both the Planetizen and Vancouver Sun headlines is that the problem is supply. However, the end of the article suggests that demand is also part of the explanation. The policy implications of each, especially for planners, are quite different.
Better question: is the supply of nutritious food meeting demand
Randal, that's of course the standard question, but the fact is that highly processed fast food is nutritionally and cheaper for budgets than high-quality nutritious food, therefore the standard question is too simplistic and doesn't adequately frame the problem.
Rather, one would have to run an experiment or do a case study with fast food and nutritious food costing the same and having the same ubiquity to tease out the 'demand' answer.
Best,
D