Fast-food ban unlikely to cut obesity

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (UPI) -- An ordinance to restrict fast-food chain restaurants in South Los Angeles is unlikely to cut obesity, officials of a non-profit research organization said. Researchers at Rand Health, part of the Rand Corp., found that the South Los Angeles region has no more fast-food chain establishments on a per capita basis than other parts of the city, but rather many more small food stores and other food outlets. The report, published online by the journal Health Affairs, said these small food stores and outlets are more likely to be the source of high-calorie snacks and soda consumed substantially more often by residents of South Los Angeles as compared to other parts of the city. "The Los Angeles ordinance may have been an important first by being concerned with health outcomes, but it is not the most promising approach to lowering the high rate of obesity in South Los Angeles," lead author Roland Sturm, a senior economist at Rand, a nonprofit research organization, said in a statement. "It does not address the main differences we see in the food environment between Los Angeles neighborhoods nor in the diet of residents."
Copyright 2009 by United Press International

IF YOU THINK ABOUT THIS, OUR FAST FOODS HERE IN BELIZE FOCUS ON CHINESE SELLING FRIED CHICKEN, OR THE LATINOS RESTAURANTS THAT SELL US TACOS, EMPANADES, GARNACHES, TOSTADOS, SALBUTES. ALL THESE FOODS ARE COOKED IN A LOT OF OIL. AND IF THE RESTAURANT IS BUYING CHEAP COOKING OIL, WHICH I THINK IS OBVIOUS, THEN WE ARE ALL HEADING FOR OBESITY. WATCH WHAT YOU ARE EATING. IT MAY BE SAVER TO EAT AT HOME. IT IS CERTAINLY CHEAPER.
Ms B