INDIANAPOLIS—A new study on childhood obesity by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) researchers reveals that living near a fast-food outlet had little effect on childrens’ weight and living near a supermarket did not lower it.
The IUPUI investigators in economics, pediatrics, geography and urban planning compared children's weights over time before and after one of these food purveyors moved near the childrens’ residences.
The IUPUI researchers also reported that residing near certain recreational amenities lowers children’s body mass indexes (adjusted for normal childhood growth).
“This study contradicts anecdotal information and provides scientifically verified insights into a wide range of variables that we hope will help physicians and public policymakers fight childhood obesity more effectively,” said the study’s first author Robert Sandy, PhD, professor of economics and assistant executive vice president of Indiana University.
