The Effect of Fast-Food Availability on Obesity: An Analysis by Gender, Race, and Residential Location

Richard Dunn

American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2010, vol. 92, issue 4, 1149-1164

Abstract: This paper employs an identification strategy based on county-level variation in the number of fast-food restaurants to investigate the effect of fast-food availability on weight outcomes by geographic location, gender, and race/ethnicity. The number of interstate exits in the county of residence is employed as an instrument for restaurant location. Using the 2004--2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and self-collected data on the number of fast-food restaurants, I find that availability does not affect weight outcomes in rural counties, but does tend to increase body mass index among females and non-Whites in medium-density counties. These results are robust to specification choices. Copyright 2010, Oxford University Press.

Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:92:y:2010:i:4:p:1149-1164

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