Fast-food bans don't reduce obesity rates, study shows

It seems logical: limit the accessibility of fast-food outlets and fewer people will be obese. The problem is that, as sensible as this sounds, it apparently doesn’t work: a fast-food ban in Los Angeles has failed to reduce obesity rates or improve consumers’ diets.

Aiming to curb obesity in low-income areas, the city restricted the opening of new fast-food restaurants in these areas. However, since these restrictions were implemented in 2008, obesity rates have actually increased faster than in other parts of the city and other parts of the country.

The findings have been published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

“The South Los Angeles fast food ban may have symbolic value, but it has had no measurable impact in improving diets or reducing obesity,” said Roland Sturm, lead author of the study and a senior economist at RAND, a non-profit research organisation.

“This should not come as a surprise: most food outlets in the area are small food stores or small restaurants with limited seating that are not affected by the policy.”

Sturm and co-author Aiko Hattori tracked the opening of new outlets across the city and cross-referenced this information with data from the California Health Interview Survey, including eating habits and weight.

They found that rates of overweight and obesity increased in all areas of the city between 2007 and 2012, with the increase being significantly greater in areas covered by the fast-food ordinance.

“The one bright spot we found is that soft drink consumption dropped, but the decrease was similar in all areas across Los Angeles,” Hattori said. “Unfortunately, the rates of overweight and obesity increased and they increased fastest in the area subject to the fast-food ban.”