Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

The Association between Fast Food Outlets and Overweight in Adolescents Is Confounded by Neighbourhood Deprivation: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study

Mark Green
* ORCID logo ,
Matt Hobbs
ORCID logo ,
Ding Ding
,
Michael Widener
,
John Murray
,
Lindsay Reece
,
Alex Singleton
Version 1 : Received: 22 September 2021 / Approved: 24 September 2021 / Online: 24 September 2021 (12:51:26 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Green, M.A.; Hobbs, M.; Ding, D.; Widener, M.; Murray, J.; Reece, L.; Singleton, A. The Association between Fast Food Outlets and Overweight in Adolescents Is Confounded by Neighbourhood Deprivation: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 13212. Green, M.A.; Hobbs, M.; Ding, D.; Widener, M.; Murray, J.; Reece, L.; Singleton, A. The Association between Fast Food Outlets and Overweight in Adolescents Is Confounded by Neighbourhood Deprivation: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Millennium Cohort Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 13212.

Abstract

The aim of our study is to utilise longitudinal and representative national data to explore the extent that the association between the fast food environment and overweight in adolescents is confounded by neighbourhood deprivation. Longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study for England were obtained for waves 5 (ages 11/12; 2011/12; n=13,469) and 6 (ages 14/15; 2014/15; n=11,884). Our outcome variable was overweight/obesity defined using age and sex-specific International Obesity Task Force cut points. Individuals were linked, based on their residential location, to data on the density of fast food outlets and neighbourhood deprivation. Structural Equation Models were used to model associations at both ages and explicitly test for confounding. While we found some evidence for an association between the number of fast food outlets and overweight, any associations disappeared following accounting for the confounding nature of neighbourhood deprivation. Neighbourhood deprivation was consistently associated to overweight, with adolescents who resided in deprived areas more likely to be overweight. Results were largely consistent depending on different methodological decisions. Our findings suggest that policy efforts should prioritise focusing on tackling the social determinants of excess body mass which will be more effective than interventions aimed at the built environment.

Keywords

fast food; neighbourhood; deprivation; overweight; obesity; adolesence; confounding

Subject

Social Sciences, Geography, Planning and Development

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Download PDF Download Supplementary

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0
Get PDF Supplementary Files Cite Share 0
Bookmark BibSonomy Mendeley Reddit Delicious
×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.