Study links student obesity to distance from fast food

The tests take place in the spring, giving the students about 30 weeks of exposure to the fast-food restaurants near their campuses before body-fat measures are recorded. The study looked at data from more than 1,000 public high schools. About 80 of them had a fast-food establishment within a tenth of a mile of their campuses, a large enough sample to make the findings valid, DellaVigna said.

Latino and female students were the most susceptible to weight gain, according to the study.

At Fullerton Union, students learn about nutrition in health classes, and the school tries to serve healthful fare, said Principal Catherine Gach. But the school has little control over what happens outside its gates.

Gach said freshmen aren't supposed to leave campus at lunch, but she admitted that some sneak out from time to time. Others stop by McDonald's before or after school.

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based fast-food giant declined to discuss the issues raised by the study, such as store location and teen obesity, saying only that it offers a variety of food choices.

Taco Bell, another chain mentioned in the study, said that its core market is males 18 to 34 and that it doesn't specifically target kids. The Irvine-based chain provides customers with nutritional information and a variety of low-fat offerings, said Rob Poetsch, a Taco Bell spokesman. It's also adding calorie information to its menu boards.

The finding that students who are constantly exposed to fast food are more likely to be fat "should not be a surprise," said Brenda Roche, a registered dietitian at UC Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles County.

"If you put a McDonald's in front of a school, kids will eat there," she said. "Obesity is as much a factor of environment as it is a matter of choice."

But there's hope for high school students hooked on burgers and fries, said Robert Hemedes, a partially reformed fast-food junkie.

"Now that I am older and I saw how it can impact the waistline, I no longer order the larger sizes and I make sure to exercise," said Hemedes, a human resources worker in Los Angeles. Last week he ate at McDonald's but limited his order to a regular hamburger and small fries. The $2.07 bill fit his budget, he said, "saving me money so I can go out with my foodie friends to a better restaurant on the weekend."

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jerry.hirsch@latimes.com