Applying Findings to Practice

Abstract

In response to the issue of obesity among youth, the researchers looked at the placement of fastfood outlets and convenience stores near schools, concerned that these venues could be a deterrent to healthy eating behaviors. Proximity was considered walking distance within 0.5 mile or 805 meters of the school. The final sample size was 31,243 “regular and operational” secondary schools whose latitude and longitude location in the United States were determined from the National Center for Education Statistics for schools in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Separate analyses were done using 1,718 schools from the 20 largest U.S. cities. Convenience stores could be independent or chain stores. The fast-food outlets were classified as “fastfood restaurants and stands” (p. 338) and did not include coffee shops. They could be snack shops, drive-in restaurants, hot dog stands, sandwich and submarine shops, and delicatessens. Researchers found that 37% of public secondary schools nationwide had at least one fast-food restaurant nearby, and 33% had at least one convenience store. African American neighborhoods had fewer fast-food venues but similar numbers of convenience stores when compared with “White” neighborhoods; other racial/ethnic neighborhoods had more fast-food outlets and convenience stores than either of the above neighborhoods. Schools in the highest income neighborhoods had the fewest fast-food venues and convenience stores, followed by the middle-income and lowest income neighborhoods. Within 0.25 mile or 402 meters, high schools had more fast-food restaurants than did middle schools nationwide, whether independent or chain. Urban schools in the 20 largest cities had one or more fast-food restaurants (68%) and convenience stores (56%) in the neighborhood and had more convenience stores within 0.25 mile than did schools nationally. Urban high schools had more fast-food restaurants within walking distance than did middle schools.