title: Associations between childhood obesity and the availability of food outlets in the local environment: a retrospective cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Examine whether individual-level childhood obesity is related to residential availability of fast food and healthy food outlets.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Perth, Western Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1850 children aged 5 to 15 years in 2005-2010 who participated in the Western Australian Health and Wellbeing Surveillance System survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Geographical Information Systems were used to calculate a range of measures of fast food and healthy food outlet access and availability. For example, distance to nearest and access and density measures within 800 m and 3 km of each child's residence were all tested.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multivariate logistic regression analysis, controlling for individual-level sociodemographic factors and lifestyle behaviors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An increasing number of healthy food outlets within 800 m of a child's home was associated with a significantly reduced risk of being overweight/obese in all models tested. After controlling for age, physical activity, time spent sedentary, weekly takeaway consumption, area disadvantage, and count of fast food outlets, each additional healthy food outlet within 800 m was associated with a 20% decrease in the likelihood of a child being overweight or obese (odds ratio: .800, 95% confidence intervals: .686-.933).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The local food environment around children's homes has an independent effect on child weight status. These findings highlight the importance of the built environment as a potential contributor towards child health, which should be considered when developing community health promotion programs.
authors.forename: Laura J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Joyce
authors.forename: Shannon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Grace
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Health focus: nutrition; Obesity, Child, Fast Food, Healthy Food, GIS, Logistic Models, Prevention Research. Manuscript format: research; Outcome measure: morbidity; Research purpose: modeling/relationship testing; Setting: local community; Strategy: built environment; Study design: nonexperimental; Target population age: youth; Target population circumstances: geographic location