When it comes to obesity, one Baylor U. professor says it’s all about location, location, location — of fast food restaurants, that is.

When the number of fast food restaurants grows the obesity rate grows, too, and a study conducted by Dr. Brennan Davis shows that the closer fast food is to schools, the higher the chances are for obesity.

“Students at schools near fast food restaurants have higher levels of childhood obesity and have higher food consumption compared to students whose schools are not close in proximity to restaurants,” said Davis, assistant professor of marketing.

Davis said he wanted to do something more meaningful than helping car dealerships find good locations.

“I wanted to apply it to something that will help change people’s lives,” Davis said. “Adolescent obesity was one of the most pressing social concerns.”

Davis’ research study, “Proximity of Fast-Food Restaurants to Schools and Adolescent Obesity,” won an award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2009. In his research, Davis looked at the geographic locations of schools and restaurants to see if there were any connections between them.

Davis said marketing is concerned with questions about geographic location and deals with placement, product, promotion and price. His research seeks to understand which student groups are most affected by fast food restaurants.

“What I’ve discovered in the paper I’m writing now is that students with higher levels of group-based activity are most vulnerable to fast food proximity effect,” Davis said. “It’s in contrast to previous findings that pro-social activities was protective against unhealthy behaviors like excessive food consumption.”

Davis found that those involved are drawn to fast food places because they’re good places to hang out.

“Fast food facilities facilitate group interactions,” Davis said. “People involved in pro-social activities are used to relating in groups at these places.”

This past summer, Davis took two students to New York for the Baylor-Cornell Food & Brand Internship. There he worked with Bryan Wansink, former director of the USDA, and Cornell students.

“We went to Cinnabon and showed customers ads to see whether we could help them frame food decision to choose items with lower calories,” Davis said. “We discovered that by emphasizing healthy choices made by people like them, average customers reduced their calories consumed by 200 per visit compared to a control group.”

Dr. LuAnn Soliah, professor of family and consumer sciences and nutrition sciences program director, said that with all of the fast food restaurants close to Baylor, students are prime targets for advertisers.

“Fast food places know the way students spend money in college affects the way they spend money in their adult life,” Soliah said. “Just because you graduate doesn’t mean you’ll stop liking that food or that restaurant. You carry it with you other places.”

She said students’ eating habits are affected by the advertisements they see.

“People are aware of the logo or the name or the top-selling items they serve,” Soliah said. “People recognize them and are familiar with them. Those names and brands hold a lot of value because that familiarity turns into preference.”

Weatherford junior Amy Trainer, a nutrition major, said the convenience of close restaurants has an impact on what students eat.

“The closeness of the fast food places and whether students have a meal plan or not play a role in how often they eat at them,” Trainer said. “Most students don’t cook, so they don’t really have any other choices but to get fast food.”

Terry Otto, co-owner of Terry and Jo’s Food for Thought, said he started the restaurant because there were not many healthy options for students in Waco.

Food for Thought offers healthy food, such as sandwiches, burritos and smoothies, and even offers vegetarian selections.

“It seems like young people want another option for food,” Otto said.

He said about 80 percent of his restaurant’s customers are Baylor students and faculty.

“Students from the bigger cities are used to having more dining options,” Otto said. “It’s more like what they’re used to eating.”

Davis plans to publish his new research in 2011. He said he hopes to help people make healthier choices.

“I hope the findings helps make students more aware of the dynamic so they can change their habits,” Davis said.

“Helping individuals make better decisions for themselves is always my top priority.”