Susan Babey is a Center senior research scientist and co-author of a new policy brief on the increase in teen junk food consumption in neighborhoods that are crowded with fast food and other unhealthy food outlets. In this interview, Babey describes how junk food remains abundant even in places (like schools) that have ostensibly banned it, how having a healthier option matters, and why zoning – and not just education – is important in keeping Californians healthy.

Q: Policies have gone into effect restricting teen access to junk food. Yet junk food continues to reach teens. How?

​​Many school districts and more recently the state of California have taken steps to reduce the availability of fast food and soda on school campuses during school hours. However, there are still many, many sources of fast food and soda that teens can access. On the way to and from school, whether teens walk, bike, take the bus or drive, fast food restaurants are everywhere. In fact, there is research demonstrating that fast food outlets cluster around schools. This suggests that schools may be seen as a desirable site for fast food outlets to locate. There are also food trucks and street vendors that may frequently stop near schools before or after school, or during lunch-time. None of these potential sources of junk food are impacted by the existing state and school district policies that have been implemented to improve the healthfulness of foods and beverages available on school campuses. In addition, many teens still have access to soda and fast food after school, at events, or during hours when many students practice sports or engage in other after-school activities.

Q: Unhealthy food outlets will always outpace the number of grocery stores, farmers markets and other purveyors of healthy food. So aren’t communities always going to be outnumbered?

Less healthy food outlets do tend to outnumber stores with healthier options in most areas. However, the results of our study suggest that the relative availability of these outlets is important. For example, kids who live and go to school in areas with 8 times as many fast food outlets, convenience stores and liquor stores as there are grocery stores and produce vendors are more likely to drink soda and eat fast food than kids who live and go to school in areas with just 3 or 4 times as many of the less healthy outlets compared to the number of healthier outlets. This suggests that despite being outnumbered by outlets that sell primarily junk food, the presence of more grocery stores and farmers markets may help to temper the effect of the less healthy stores.

Q: What role does education campaign play in helping parents and teens make better food choices?

Education efforts are very important, but education alone is not enough. There have been efforts to educate kids and adults about healthy eating for a long time. For example, California launched its "5 A Day for Better Health" campaign in 1988 and that campaign was widely adopted across the country by 1994. When these campaigns were very active and well funded, people did eat more fruits and vegetables, but the increase in consumption was not sustained. In addition, the prevalence of obesity continued to rise despite education efforts. Why? It’s important to eat more fruits and vegetables, but it is also important to eat less sugar, fat, and sodium, and also eat fewer calories. I think part of the problem is that the message of any education campaign can be drowned out by people’s daily experiences – passing by dozens of purveyors of junk food, billboards with pictures of appetizing but unhealthy foods, the marketing for cheap and tasty fast food, even the smell of French fries. All of these can undermine the message of a campaign to eat better. There are also many barriers to healthy eating that people encounter every day. Many people have no grocery stores or farmers markets nearby and this limits their access to fresh produce and other healthy grocery items.

Susan H. Babey is co-director of the Center’s Chronic Disease Program and lead author of new studies on child/teen physical activity and adult walking. In this brief interview, Babey discusses why many children are sedentary, why adults should put in even more steps walking, and other benefits of physical activity. 

Q: Your study found that only 1 in 3 kids and 1 in 5 teens get the recommended hour a day of physical exercise. What factors influence their avoidance of sweat? 

A lot of factors influence how much physical activity kids get. Many kids live in neighborhoods without sidewalks and without access to safe parks or bicycle trails and paths near their homes. Our study found that kids who lived near parks got more exercise. Concerns about safety can be a barrier to physical activity. We found that 15 percent of children and adolescents live in neighborhoods that they or their parents consider unsafe. Those children and adolescents were less physically active.

In addition, between school, homework, and other activities, kids have a lot competing for their time. Video games, TV, phones and other technology offer a tempting diversion ― one that can encourage significant amounts of sedentary behavior during kids’ free time if parents don’t set limits. ;

Q: In comparison, the adult recommendation for walking is just 150 minutes a week. Are we letting adults off too easily? 

Physical activity guidelines recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate activity each week. Walking is the most common form of physical activity among adults and it is one that many adults are able to maintain throughout their life. The recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate activity is associated with substantial health benefits including lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and colon and breast cancer as well as helping to prevent weight gain.

However, the guidelines also emphasize that even greater health benefits are associated with 300 minutes of physical activity per week, and this amount is more in line with the recommendations for kids. Our study found that only one-third of California adults meet the physical activity recommendations by walking for at least 150 minutes per week. However, our data only included information about walking (not other kinds of physical activity). More of the adults in our study would have met recommendations if other types of activity were included. Nationally, about half of adults meet physical activity guidelines.

Q: Are there other reasons beyond being physically fit to pull ourselves away from sedentary activities like binge-watching TV shows and exercise instead? 

Physical activity has a lot of benefits beyond improved physical fitness for both kids and adults. In addition to physical health benefits, more physical activity is linked to improved cognitive function and sleep quality as well as reduced risk for depression and dementia for adults. For kids, more physical activity is linked with increased mental alertness and higher academic achievement, as well as lower levels of stress and depression.