Abstract

This article investigates the effect of fast-food availability on childhood weight outcomes by gender, race, and location. We use a novel identification strategy based on changes in fast-food exposure along the route between the home and school that occur as students progress through the public school system and transition to different types of schools, e.g. from elementary school to intermediate school or from intermediate school to high school. Using a longitudinal census of height and weight for public school students in Arkansas, we find no evidence that changes in fast-food exposure are associated with changes in body mass index z-score for any student subpopulation.

Details

Title
A longitudinal analysis of fast-food exposure on child weight outcomes: Identifying causality through school transitions
Author
Dunn, Richard A 1 ; Nayga, Rodolfo M, Jr 2 ; Thomsen, Michael R 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rouse, Heather L 3 

1  Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Connecticut , Storrs, CT 06269-4021, USA 
2  Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas , Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA 
3  Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University , Ames, IA 50011, USA 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
Jan 2021
Publisher
Oxford University Press
e-ISSN
26339048
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/qopen/qoaa007
ProQuest document ID
3191346856
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press in association with European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.