Brennan Davis

Proximity of Fast-Food Restaurants to Schools and Adolescent Obesity

OBJECTIVES We examined the relationship between fast-food restaurants near schools and obesity among middle and high school students in California. METHODS We used geocoded data (obtained from the 2002-2005 California Healthy Kids Survey) on over 500,000 youths and multivariate regression models to estimate associations between adolescent obesity and proximity of fast-food restaurants to schools. RESULTS We found that students with fast-food restaurants near (within one half mile of) their schools (1) consumed fewer servings of fruits and vegetables, (2) consumed more servings of soda, and (3) were more likely to be overweight (odds ratio [OR] = 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02, 1.10) or obese (OR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.12) than were youths whose schools were not near fast-food restaurants, after we controlled for student- and school-level characteristics. The result was unique to eating at fast-food restaurants (compared with other nearby establishments) and was not observed for another risky behavior (smoking). CONCLUSIONS Exposure to poor-quality food environments has important effects on adolescent eating patterns and overweight. Policy interventions limiting the proximity of fast-food restaurants to schools could help reduce adolescent obesity.

From Nutrients to Nurturance: A Conceptual Introduction to Food Well-Being

The authors propose a restructuring of the “food as health” paradigm to “food as well-being.” This requires shifting from an emphasis on restraint and restrictions to a more positive, holistic understanding of the role of food in overall well-being. The authors propose the concept of food well-being (FWB), defined as a positive psychological, physical, emotional, and social relationship with food at both individual and societal levels. The authors define and explain the five primary domains of FWB: food socialization, food literacy, food marketing, food availability, and food policy. The FWB framework employs a richer definition of food and highlights the need for research that bridges other disciplines and paradigms outside and within marketing. Further research should develop and refine the understanding of each domain with the ultimate goal of moving the field toward this embodiment of food as well-being.

Making Small Food Units Seem Regular: How Larger Table Size Reduces Calories to Be Consumed

People compensate for small food-unit sizes by eating more units compared to regular-sized units, but the aggregate of calories people consume of smaller versus regular units is still less because each unit consumed increases perceptions of overindulgence and impulsivity. This suggests that if perceptions of a food unit’s smallness could be disrupted, people may not need to compensate, resulting in a further reduction in aggregate food chosen and consumed. In a lab and field experiment, people took the fewest calories when presented with smaller versus regular-sized pizza slices (i.e., from the same pizza pie diameter) placed on a larger table that distracted their attention away from the smallness of the pizza slices. We show that unit-size effects can be altered by food frame-size mechanisms like table diameter.

Are All Proximity Effects Created Equal? Fast Food Near Schools and Body Weight Among Diverse Adolescents

Prior research has demonstrated that the proximity of fast-food restaurants to schools is related to higher youth body weight and also suggests that this relationship may be stronger in urban areas. Research also suggests that some segments of youth may be more vulnerable to this relationship than others. The authors investigate the relationship of fast-food proximity to middle and high schools and adolescent weight outcomes, with a focus on understanding intra-urban differences across groups defined by ethnicity and school income. Their results suggest that body weight associations with proximity to a fast-food restaurant from school are not equal for all youth. Black and Hispanic students at low-income and urban schools have higher associations between school–fast food distance and youth body weight, up to four times greater than general distance associations. The authors discuss their findings in light of the complexity of understanding the relationship between retail marketing proximity and weight-related associations among youth, as well as obesity disparities.

Risky Research? How Relational Engagement in Research Can Mitigate Harm and Enhance Benefits

Many consumer researchers study risky consumption behaviors with the goal of enhancing consumer well-being. But could the very process of research be potentially harmful if it is extractive and focused on mining insights for academic publications? Could more participatory research processes where beneficiaries collaborate lead to changes that could more directly enhance consumer well-being? We explore how a relational engagement approach to research can be used to carefully think through opportunities to not only mitigate risk in studies but enhance broader benefits for the participants. Specifically, we look at how collaboration between researchers and potential beneficiaries improves the creation of direct research outputs, research awareness, research use, and societal benefit. By collaborating with stakeholders who are directly involved with the risky consumption, we bring the research process as close as possible to the problem at hand. In doing so, we hope to improve research outcomes by creating knowledge both with and for beneficiaries.

The Transformative Consumer Research Movement

In this essay, the authors explore the emergence, growth, and future of the transformative consumer research movement. The notion of a social movement is used to conceptualize the organizing activities of research performed with the goal of enhancing consumer well-being. The authors trace the informal/formal and individual/collective actions that support their claim that transformative consumer research is an academic movement. They reflect on the future hurdles the movement faces to remain healthy and dynamic as well as the significant synergies that exist with public policy researchers.