Will Shutting Out Fast Food Reduce Childhood Obesity?

A new study in Obesity caught our attention with a claim that “restricting fast food outlets in areas with a high concentration of such outlets as part of a package of policies to reduce childhood obesity may help to reduce prevalence and inequalities.”

So we looked a little closer and found a different story in the results of the primary analysis for this study. You see, these researchers aimed to determine if a policy to restrict fast food outlets in Gateshead, England, might have had the effect of reducing childhood obesity prevalence.

It did not have that effect. The authors say this plainly in their statement of results:

“We found no significant change in population-level childhood overweight and obesity in Gateshead compared with control areas.”

Shrugging Off the Primary Finding

The primary finding of no effect is very much consistent with other observations. Some time ago, researchers found that a ban on new fast food outlets in South Los Angeles had no discernible effect on obesity prevalence. Likewise, a recent analysis of econometric data concluded that fast food exposure had no effect on childhood obesity.

So we consulted Andrew Brown, who is the biostatistics core director at the Center for Childhood Obesity Prevention of the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. About the new study in Obesity, he told us:

“The conclusions from this study do not match their primary objective. They explicitly note, ‘the planning guidance and the prevalence of year 6 [overweight/obesity] is not statistically significant in any model.’ Only when they dig in with arbitrary subgroups do they see an association. Oddly, they report that it is the second most deprived areas that show associations. To conclude that the policy might work in areas with high concentrations of outlets does not seem to match the results.”

Believing Is Seeing

The conviction that fast food is an important factor in rising childhood obesity can be quite strong. And believing something to be true can lead us to find support for our prior assumptions. Confirmation bias is very human and can be very strong.

But it can also lead us down a well-worn path of pursuing obesity prevention strategies that are ineffective. After a long trek on this path, it might be time to question some of our assumptions.

Click here for the new study of fast food outlet restrictions in Gateshead, here and here for research that supports a different perspective.

Pal’s Sudden Service Fast Food, photograph by Appalachian Centrist, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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November 1, 2024