Here’s an unusual way to demonize fast food:
In the battle against childhood obesity, well-intentioned government policies that encourage healthy eating face a daunting challenge from the proliferation of fast-food establishments right outside the schoolhouse door, a new Chicago-based study shows.
The median distance from any Chicago school to the nearest fast-food restaurant is about a third of a mile—a walk of little more than 5 minutes for an adult—according to the study by Boston researchers, published today in the American Journal of Public Health.
Almost 80 percent of public and private schools in Chicago had at least one fast-food restaurant within about a half mile, exposing children to “poor-quality food environments in their school neighborhoods,” according to the researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston and the Harvard School of Public Health.
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The study found 79 fast-food restaurant chains clustered around some 1,300 Chicago schools. McDonald’s restaurants made up 16 percent of the 613 fast-food sites, followed by Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts, KFC, Burger King, and other chains.
The article makes it sounds like fast food restaurants are predators stalking the little children.
Well, why not?
The cheerleaders for the nanny state have demonized booze, cigarettes, and firearms by spreading fear about the effects on “the children.” People have been joking for years that fast food would be next. I guess so…
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