Fast-food intake and perceived and objective measures of the local fast-food environment in adolescents

Abstract

Objective: We examined associations between fast-food intake and perceived and objective fast-food outlet exposure. Design: Information from the Health Behaviours in School-aged Children Study was linked to fast-food outlets in seventy-five school neighbourhoods. We used multivariate multilevel logistic regression analyses to examine associations between at least weekly fast-food intake and perceived and objective fast-food outlet measures. Subjects: Data represent 4642 adolescents (aged 11-15 years) in Denmark. Results: Boys reporting two or more fast-food outlets had 34 % higher odds consuming fast food at least weekly. We detected higher odds of at least weekly fast-food intake among 15-year-old 9th graders (OR all = 1·74; 95 % CI 1·40, 2·18; OR boys = 2·20; 95 % CI 1·66, 2·91; OR girls = 1·41; 95 % CI 1·03, 1·92), Danish speakers (OR all = 2·32; 95 % CI 1·68, 3·19; OR boys = 2·58; 95 % CI 1·69, 3·93; OR girls = 2·37; 95 % CI 1·46, 3·84) and those travelling 15 min or less to school (OR all = 1·21; 95 % CI 1·00, 1·46; OR girls = 1·44; 95 % CI 1·08, 1·93) compared with 11-year-old 5th graders, non-Danish speakers and those with longer travel times. Boys from middle-(OR = 1·28; 95 % CI 1·00, 1·65) and girls from low-income families (OR = 1·46; 95 % CI 1·05, 2·04) had higher odds of at least weekly fast-food intake compared with those from high-income backgrounds. Girls attending schools with canteens (OR = 1·47; 95 % CI 1·00, 2·15) had higher odds of at least weekly fastfood intake than girls at schools without canteens. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates that perceived food outlets may impact fast-food intake in boys while proximity impacts intake in girls. Public health planning could target food environments that emphasize a better understanding of how adolescents use local resources.

Associations between home and school neighbourhood food environments and adolescents’ fast-food and sugar-sweetened beverage intakes: findings from the Olympic Regeneration in East London (ORiEL) Study

“…We found no evidence of an association between the absolute availability of fast-food restaurants or convenience stores and fast-food or SSB intake, findings which add to the weight of evidence suggesting no effect for the home ( 18 , 32 , 36 ) and school ( 26 , 30 , 32 , 34 – 37 ) neighbourhoods on these dietary outcomes. The null associations found for absolute availability measures in our sample could possibly be explained by the relatively low heterogeneity in the food environment exposures.…”

“…It also provides evidence specific to a high-density urban context (London, UK) which is of importance since findings from different cities may not be directly comparable because of differences in urban density, form, planning and legislation (54) . We found no evidence of an association between the absolute availability of fast-food restaurants or convenience stores and fast-food or SSB intake, findings which add to the weight of evidence suggesting no effect for the home (18,32,36) and school (26,30,32,(34)(35)(36)(37) neighbourhoods on these dietary outcomes. The null associations found for absolute availability measures in our sample could possibly be explained by the relatively low heterogeneity in the food environment exposures.…”

“…In one study that investigated proximity rather than density, Skidmore et al found that living further away from a fast-food restaurant or convenience store was associated with less frequent consumption of sugary drinks (33) . Studies of fast-food retailer availability in the school neighbourhood have tended to report null associations with fast-food (26,32,34,35) and SSB intake (30,32,36,37) , although school density and proximity to fast-food restaurants have been found to positively relate to fast-food intake and SSB consumption (31,38) .…”

Utilization of food outlets and intake of minimally processed and ultra-processed foods among 7 to 14-year-old schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study

“…Few studies had explored the relationship between the intake of foods classified according to the level of processing and use of different food outlets. 20,21 Since this subject is relatively new, it is reasonable to compare the present results with those of studies that investigated the availability and density of food outlets and the intake of foods, but not necessarily using classifications according to the level of processing.…”

“…22 Similar findings were reported among Danish adolescents of the same age, among whom the boys who had greater exposure to fastfood restaurants in the environs of their schools had higher intake of the foods sold at these establishments than did those who were not exposed to these restaurants. 20 Another Canadian study on 810 adolescents aged 11 to 14 found that there was poorer quality of diet, with higher intake of fast foods, among those who lived close to or went to schools close to convenience stores and outlets selling fast foods. 23 Similar results were reported by Laska et al, 24 who found that the sugar-sweetened beverage intake of 349 American adolescents was associated with living close to fast-food restaurants, convenience or grocery stores or any retail facility.…”