Fast food restaurant locations according to socioeconomic disadvantage, urban–regional locality, and schools within Victoria, Australia

Features of the built environment provide opportunities to engage in both healthy and unhealthy behaviours. Access to a high number of fast food restaurants may encourage greater consumption of fast food products. The distribution of fast food restaurants at a state-level has not previously been reported in Australia. Using the location of 537 fast food restaurants from four major chains (McDonald׳s, KFC, Hungry Jacks, and Red Rooster), this study examined fast food restaurant locations across the state of Victoria relative to area-level disadvantage, urban–regional locality (classified as Major Cities, Inner Regional, or Outer Regional), and around schools. Findings revealed greater locational access to fast food restaurants in more socioeconomically disadvantaged areas (compared to areas with lower levels of disadvantage), nearby to secondary schools (compared to primary schools), and nearby to primary and secondary schools within the most disadvantaged areas of the major city region (compared to primary and secondary schools in areas with lower levels of disadvantage). Adjusted models showed no significant difference in location according to urban–regional locality. Knowledge of the distribution of fast food restaurants in Australia will assist local authorities to target potential policy mechanisms, such as planning regulations, where they are most needed.

[1]  Karen Witten,et al.  Neighborhood deprivation and access to fast-food retailing: a national study. , 2007, American journal of preventive medicine.

[2]  D. Jernigan,et al.  Land use planning and the control of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and fast food restaurants. , 2003, American journal of public health.

[3]  J. Sharkey,et al.  Validity of secondary retail food outlet data: a systematic review. , 2013, American journal of preventive medicine.

[4]  Lukar E Thornton,et al.  Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to assess the role of the built environment in influencing obesity: a glossary , 2011, The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

[5]  L. Mckay,et al.  McDonald's restaurants and neighborhood deprivation in Scotland and England. , 2005, American journal of preventive medicine.

[6]  R. Scribner,et al.  Fast food, race/ethnicity, and income: a geographic analysis. , 2004, American journal of preventive medicine.

[7]  A. Carver,et al.  A comparison study of children's independent mobility in England and Australia , 2013 .

[8]  S V Subramanian,et al.  The local food environment and diet: a systematic review. , 2012, Health & place.

[9]  V. Chang,et al.  Weight status and restaurant availability a multilevel analysis. , 2008, American journal of preventive medicine.

[10]  R Core Team,et al.  R: A language and environment for statistical computing. , 2014 .

[11]  C. Panayotakis.  Defining Environmental Justice: Theories, Movements, and Nature , 2009 .

[12]  C. Burns,et al.  Measuring food access in Melbourne: access to healthy and fast foods by car, bus and foot in an urban municipality in Melbourne. , 2007, Health & place.

[13]  Lisa M Powell,et al.  US secondary schools and food outlets. , 2008, Health & place.

[14]  M. Ashe,et al.  Changing places: policies to make a healthy choice the easy choice. , 2011, Public health.

[15]  Anne Ellaway,et al.  Do obesity-promoting food environments cluster around socially disadvantaged schools in Glasgow, Scotland? , 2012, Health & place.

[16]  F. Chaloupka,et al.  The availability of fast-food and full-service restaurants in the United States: associations with neighborhood characteristics. , 2007, American journal of preventive medicine.

[17]  David O'Sullivan,et al.  Geographic Information Analysis , 2002 .

[18]  J. Kent,et al.  The Three Domains of Urban Planning for Health and Well-being , 2014 .

[19]  J. Sallis,et al.  The Role of Built Environments in Physical Activity, Eating, and Obesity in Childhood , 2006, The Future of children.

[20]  Karen Glanz,et al.  Creating healthy food and eating environments: policy and environmental approaches. , 2008, Annual review of public health.

[21]  T. Blakely,et al.  A national study of the association between neighbourhood access to fast-food outlets and the diet and weight of local residents. , 2009, Health & place.

[22]  G. Wittert,et al.  Personal and lifestyle characteristics predictive of the consumption of fast foods in Australia , 2007, Public Health Nutrition.

[23]  A. Kavanagh,et al.  Fast food purchasing and access to fast food restaurants: a multilevel analysis of VicLANES , 2009, The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity.

[24]  R. Sturm.  Disparities in the food environment surrounding US middle and high schools. , 2008, Public health.

[25]  M. Caraher,et al.  The planning system and fast food outlets in London: lessons for health promotion practice , 2013 .

[26]  Steven Cummins,et al.  Neighbourhood fast food environment and area deprivation—substitution or concentration? , 2007, Appetite.

[27]  K. Evenson,et al.  A systematic review of fast food access studies , 2011, Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

[28]  B. Swinburn,et al.  Monitoring the availability of healthy and unhealthy foods and non-alcoholic beverages in community and consumer retail food environments globally , 2013 .

[29]  J. Brug.  Determinants of healthy eating: motivation, abilities and environmental opportunities. , 2008, Family practice.

[30]  S. Austin,et al.  Clustering of fast-food restaurants around schools: a novel application of spatial statistics to the study of food environments. , 2005, American journal of public health.

[31]  J. Pearce,et al.  Does the choice of neighbourhood supermarket access measure influence associations with individual-level fruit and vegetable consumption? A case study from Glasgow , 2012, International Journal of Health Geographics.

[32]  A. Timperio,et al.  Do food and physical activity environments vary between disadvantaged urban and rural areas? Findings from the READI Study. , 2012, Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals.

[33]  G. Turrell,et al.  Socioeconomic disadvantage and the purchase of takeaway food: A multilevel analysis , 2008, Appetite.

[34]  J. Maddock,et al.  The Relationship between Obesity and the Prevalence of Fast Food Restaurants: State-Level Analysis , 2004, American journal of health promotion : AJHP.

[35]  M. Buxton,et al.  The impact of planning ‘reform’ on the Victorian land use planning system , 2014 .

[36]  P. Day,et al.  Obesity-promoting food environments and the spatial clustering of food outlets around schools. , 2011, American journal of preventive medicine.

[37]  E. Taylor.  Fast food planning conflicts in Victoria 1969–2012: is every unhappy family restaurant unhappy in its own way? , 2015 .

[38]  L. Fraser,et al.  The Geography of Fast Food Outlets: A Review , 2010, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[39]  Jason P. Block,et al.  The Spatial Accessibility of Fast food Restaurants and Convenience Stores in Relation to Neighborhood Schools , 2014 .

[40]  J Brug,et al.  A systematic review of environmental factors and obesogenic dietary intakes among adults: are we getting closer to understanding obesogenic environments? , 2010, Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

[41]  B. Swinburn,et al.  Monitoring the availability of healthy and unhealthy foods and non‐alcoholic beverages in community and consumer retail food environments globally , 2013, Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity.

[42]  M. Mahoney,et al.  An ecological study of the relationship between social and environmental determinants of obesity. , 2002, Health & place.

[43]  M. Shih,et al.  Proximity of fast food restaurants to schools: do neighborhood income and type of school matter? , 2008, Preventive medicine.