Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026

A Procedure to Study the Effect of Prolonged Food Restriction on Heroin Seeking in Abstinent Rats
Published on: November 11, 2013
Fast food and deprivation in Nova Scotia
Jennifer Jones1, Mikiko Terashima, Daniel Rainham
1Environmental Programmes, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS.
Objective:
To examine the relationship between density of fast food restaurants and measures of social and material deprivation at the community level in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Methods:
Census information on population and key variables required for the calculation of deprivation indices were obtained for 266 communities in Nova Scotia. The density of fast food restaurants per 1000 individuals for each community was calculated and communities were divided into quintiles of material and psychosocial deprivation. One-way analysis of variance was used to investigate associations between fast food outlet densities and deprivation scores at the community level.
Results:
A statistically significant inverse association was found between community-level material deprivation and the mean number of fast food restaurants per 1000 people for Nova Scotia (p < 0.000). Significant positive relationships were found between density of fast food restaurants and psychosocial deprivation (p < 0.000). Both associations were principally linear with greater fast food outlet density occurring as material deprivation decreased and as psychosocial deprivation increased.
Interpretation:
Community-level deprivation in Nova Scotia is associated with fast food outlet density and lends support for environmental explanations for variations in the prevalence of obesity. Such findings are valuable to population health intervention initiatives targeting the modification of environmental determinants of obesity.
Related Concept Videos
Metabolic States of the Body: Fasting and Starvation
Parentral Nutrition: Centeral and Peripheral Parental Nutrition
PN can be administered through two primary routes:
1. Central Parenteral Nutrition (CPN):
CPN involves delivering a high concentration of nutrients through a large vein. This is typically achieved using a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) or,...
Regulation of Food Intake
Optimal Foraging
Binge Eating Disorders
Obesity

