There's a Correlation between Obesity and Expensive Produce

According to a recent study:

The study examined the weight gain of 6,918 children of varying socio-economic backgrounds from 59 U.S. metropolitan areas as they advanced from kindergarten to third grade. Researchers compared the weight gain figures with the price of different types of foods and the number of food outlets in the areas.

They did not examine what the children ate, however.

The results showed that young children who live in communities where fruits and vegetables are expensive are more likely to gain excessive amounts of weight than kids who live in areas where produce costs less. That connection was stronger than the proximity to fast-food restaurants.

In other words, we must: BAN OVERPRICED ORGANIC VEGETABLES NOW!

On the other hand, maybe obesity causes vegetable prices to rise …

A discrepancy in the coverage

There appears to be a discrepancy in covering the other conclusions of the study in question. In the United States it is reported that:

LOS ANGELES -- A new study suggests the price of fresh fruits and vegetables has a stronger connection to weight gain among children than whether they live near fast-food outlets.

It adds more confusion to the muddy picture of what causes youngsters to gain weight.

Advocacy groups have suggested a strong link between obesity and the proximity of fast-food restaurants or the lack of supermarkets stocked with fresh food. But the new study by the Santa Monica-based Rand Corp. think tank found little support for that connection.

"You see lots of stories about the poor becoming obese because they're in neighborhoods with lots of restaurants and no access to healthy food," said Roland Sturm, a co-author of the Rand study. "We show that well, maybe those stories don't hold up."

On the other hand, In India it is reported that:

Next time when a convenience store or a fast food joint opens near your house don't feel elated, it could be the reason for your child's weight gain.

The fat filled happy meal or any such junkie may sound "convenient", but they may help explain the growing obesity epidemic among children.

A recent study by US-based RAND found a significant relationship between children's excess weight gain and the presence of many convenience stores, full service restaurants, limited service restaurants (primarily fast food restaurants), or grocery stores near their homes.

………

Roland Sturm, senior economist with RAND, examined the weight gain of 6,918 children from 59 metropolitan areas around the United States over the time the children advanced from kindergarten through third grade. His study found out a relationship between children's weight gain and the density of food establishments and the price of food across the nation.

I suppose they expect the Indian poor to be grateful for being protected from obesity.

I tried using Google Scholar and PubMed to locate the original paper but didn't find it.