A new UC Berkeley study that is getting lots of media attention notes that the incidence of obesity in high school students is greater when there is a fast food restaurant within 530 feet of the campus. Nearby fast food resulted in a 5.2 percent increase in the incidence of student obesity compared with the average for California youths, according to coverage in the Los Angeles Times. Scientists said the correlation is "sizable."
Reporter Jerry Hirsch sought comment from the nutrition, family and consumer sciences advisor for UC Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County, Brenda Roche. She said she wasn't surprised by the findings.
"If you put a McDonald's in front of a school, kids will eat there," she said. "Obesity is as much a factor of environment as it is a matter of choice."
Other media outlets that covered the story included:
In the Reuters story, a spokeswomen for the National Retail Federation, Ellen Davis, rejected the idea that schools be surrounded by a fast food-free zone.
"I think it would be a dangerous precedent to limit the types of legitimate, important businesses and where they're located in a city. Doesn't it make more sense for parents to limit a child's allowance or let them know when and where they can't eat certain things?" she was quoted.
Perhaps parents, schools, government and food purveyors should all be part of the effort to curb obesity.