The Effect of Fast - Food Restaurants on School - Level Obesity August 2011

We analyze the effect of the number of fast food restaurants at different distances from public schools in Arkansas on school-level obesity rates. We use instrumental variable estimation with fast-food restaurant proximity being instrumented by proportion of the population within the 15 to 24 year-old age group and nearness of the school to major highways. Although we find no consistent statistical evidence of the association between the number of fast food restaurants and school-level obesity rates, the impact is greatest when fast-food restaurants are within a quarter of a mile of schools and this impact generally declines as distance between the school and fast-food restaurants increases. The magnitudes of this impact are robust but statistical significance varied depending on model specification. Results also suggest that number of restaurants within a quarter of a mile from the school increases obesity rates in middle/high schools and non-low socioeconomic status schools. Increasing the number of restaurants within half a mile to a mile from the school increases obesity rates in low-socioeconomic status schools.