Writer mocks efforts in anti-obesity fight

In December, it is not unusual to find wrap-up articles with lists characterizing the past year or decade. Such is the case with an op-ed published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal outlining the "Top five dumbest food cop proposals of the decade."

In the story, writer J. Justin Wilson used a UC Berkeley study to denounce efforts to combat obesity by using zoning law to limit the number of fast food restaurants.

"The problem? A recent report by researchers from UC Berkeley and Northwestern University found that people living with quick access to restaurants weren't fatter than those living farther away," Wilson wrote.

Wilson was referring to a 2008 study called "Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America?"

Michael Anderson of UC Berkeley and David A. Matsa of Northwestern University used the presence of interstate highways in rural areas to determine the supply of restaurants. The obesity data came from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an ongoing, large-scale telephone survey that interviews hundreds of thousands of individuals each year regarding their health behaviors.

"The results find no evidence of a causal link between restaurants and obesity, and the estimates are precise enough to rule out any meaningful effect," the researchers wrote. "Analysis of food intake micro data suggests that although consumers eat larger meals at restaurants than at home, they offset these calories at other times of day."

Even though the researchers found no causal link, they showed in their paper the close correlation of obesity rates and restaurant density over the last 50 years. (See graph below.) They concluded that public health policies targeting restaurants are unlikely to reduce obesity and could negatively affect consumer welfare.

Other obesity prevention ideas Wilson excoriated were:

• Filing lawsuits against fast food restaurants for making people fat.
• Taxing junk food or sweetened beverages.
• Banning sweets in schools.
• Appointing a national food czar.

Wilson might be right about restaurants, however, he cannot be considered an unbiased source. He is a senior research analyst at the Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies and consumers to "promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices."

Obesity and restaurant density have increased on the same trajectory.

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