Geographic placement, social identification and consumption: A study of fast-food placement around schools and youth obesity

The authors bridge place vs. social explanations of unhealthy consumption by studying the effects of fast-food placement around schools on youth obesity. Using geocoded data on over 500,000 middle and high school students in California from 2002-2005, they employ standard multivariate regression models to test hypotheses relating fast-food placement, social ties and youth overweight and obesity. The models return strong evidence that students exposed to nearby fast food around their schools: (1) consume more servings of soda and fried potatoes; and (2) are more likely to be overweight and obese relative to similarly situated youths whose schools are not proximal to fast food. The associations are stronger for students with greater social identification and disappear altogether for students with lesser social identification. The results ultimately support the proposition that unhealthy consumption and obesity are functions of place and social ties interacting to affect consumer behavior.