proximity of food retailers to schools and rates of overweight ninth grade students an ecological study in california食品零售商的接近学校和超重率九年级学生在加州生态研究.pdfVIP

Howard et al. BMC Public Health 2011, 11:68 /1471-2458/11/68 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Proximity of food retailers to schools and rates of overweight ninth grade students: an ecological study in California 1* 1 2 Philip H Howard , Margaret Fitzpatrick , Brian Fulfrost Abstract Background: The prevalence of obesity and overweight in youth has increased dramatically since the 1980s, and some researchers hypothesize that increased consumption of low-nutrient, energy-dense foods is a key contributor. The potential importance of food retailers near schools has received increasing attention, but public health research and policy has focused primarily on fast food restaurants. Less is known about the relationship between overweight/obesity and other types of retailers. This study aims to investigate the potential associations between nearby 1) fast food restaurants, 2) convenience stores, and 3) supermarkets, and rates of overweight students in California schools. Methods: We examined the rate of overweight ninth grade students in public schools in 2007 using linear regression. The percentage of overweight students per school was determined by a state required physical fitness test, with three different options for measuring individual body composition. Our key independent variables were the presence of three different types of retailers within 800 m network buffers of the schools. Additional independent variables included school ethnic, gender and socioeconomic composition, as well as urban/non-urban location. We obtained the data from the California Department of Education and ESRI, Inc. Results: The presence of a convenience store within a 10-minute walking distance of a school was associated with a higher rate of overweight students than schools