Rodolfo Nayga, professor of agricultural economics and agribusiness at the University of Arkansas, will discuss fast food and child obesity in a 3:30 p.m., Sept. 30 lecture in Filley Hall, room 210. The lecture, "The Effect of Fast Food Restaurants on Childhood Obesity," is free and open to the public.
Nayga analyzed the effect of the number of fast food restaurants at different distances from public schools in Arkansas on school-level obesity rates. Although statistical evidence of the causal effect is mixed, results generally suggest that fast food restaurants near schools are likely contributing to childhood and adolescent obesity. The impact of fast food restaurants is greatest when they are within a quarter of a mile of schools and this impact declines as distance between the school and fast food restaurants increases.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/9fg