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Weight gain in mid-childhood and its relationship with the fast food environment

Matthew Pearce1, Isabelle Bray2, Michael Horswell2

  • 1NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, Gloucester, UK.

Journal of Public Health (Oxford, England)
|October 5, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Greater access to fast-food outlets is linked to significant weight gain in children. This highlights environmental factors contributing to childhood obesity, informing public health interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Health

Background:

  • Childhood obesity is a critical public health concern.
  • Understanding environmental influences on pediatric weight gain is vital for effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between children's weight gain and their proximity to fast-food outlets.
  • To quantify the relationship between fast-food accessibility and weight gain in mid-childhood.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study analyzed data from 1577 children using the National Child Measurement Programme.
  • Spatial analysis calculated a weighted accessibility score for fast-food outlets within a 1-km radius of residences.
  • Statistical analysis assessed the correlation between deprivation, fast-food access, and significant weight gain.

Main Results:

  • Fast-food outlets were more common in deprived areas, showing a moderate association with deprivation scores (r = 0.4, P < 0.01).
  • Children with greater access to fast food were 1.89 times more likely to experience significant weight gain (odds ratio = 1.89, P = 0.04) compared to those with no access.

Conclusions:

  • Findings support previous research on the prevalence of fast-food outlets in deprived areas.
  • This study provides new evidence linking fast-food accessibility to increased weight gain in mid-childhood.
  • Environmental factors, such as fast-food availability, play a role in pediatric obesity.
Abstract

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