Density of fast food outlets around educational facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: geospatial analysis
File(s)ijerph-18-06502-v2 (1).pdf (1.56 MB)
Published version
OA Location
Author(s)
AlQurashi, Alaa Ashraf
Kusuma, Dian
AlJishi, Hala
AlFaiz, Ali
AlSaad, Abdulaziz
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: Childhood obesity remains a public health issue globally. The latest estimate from the World Health Organization showed that over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5–19 were overweight or obese in 2016. Objective: Our study aimed to assess the density of fast food outlets around educational facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Methods: We employed geospatial and quantitative analyses using data on fast food outlets (from surveys conducted between November 2019 and May 2020) and educational facilities in Riyadh city. Data analyses conducted using ArcMap 10.6 and Stata 15 compared the density within 500 m and 500–1000 m from the facilities. Results: We found a high density of fast food outlets around educational facilities. Nearly 80% of fast food were within twelve-minute walking or five-minute driving distances from schools, and nearly 70% of all educational facilities had at least one fast food outlet within the buffer. We also found the densities were high within both the areas closer and the areas farther away from educational facilities. In addition, the density was significantly higher around private schools compared to government schools, and the density around girls-only schools and both-gender schools was higher than that around boys-only schools. Conclusion: There is a high density of fast food outlets around educational facilities in Saudi Arabia. Effective policies are needed to help reduce potential exposure to fast food among young people in Saudi Arabia and other countries with similar settings.
Date Issued
2021-06-16
Date Acceptance
2021-06-09
Citation
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021, 18 (12), pp.1-10
ISSN
1660-4601
Publisher
MDPI AG
Start Page
1
End Page
10
Journal / Book Title
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume
18
Issue
12
Copyright Statement
© 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/12/6502
Subjects
Toxicology
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-06-16