Previous Issues
Volume :49 Issue : 1 2021
Add To Cart
Download
Assessing the Spatial Relationship between Public Schools and Fast Food Restaurants in Kuwait by Using Geographic Information System
Auther : Mohammad Alnasrallah
Objectives: Clustering of fast food restaurants is one of the biggest factors that affect childhood obesity. This study examines the spatial relationship between public schools and fast-food restaurants in Kuwait by using a geographic information system (GIS). Methods: Buffer and Service Area tools were used at three levels 500, 1,000, and 1,500 meters around fast food restaurants locations to examine the accessibility of schools to fast food restaurants in the study area. Geographically weighted regression (GWR) was also performed to assess the spatial relationship between the fast food and public schools. Results: The study results show a higher percentage of schools that have access to fast food restaurants for both the Buffer and Service Area tools. The GWR results shows also high correlation between fast food and public schools. Conclusion: The use of these geospatial tools could be effective an effective way to assess the spatial relationship between public schools and fast food restaurants; this, in turn, could help the policymakers adapt the necessary measures and lawmakers adopt potential regulations that might limit fast food restaurants from operating near or close to schools.
Keywords: GIS, Fast food, Schools, Obesity, Geospatial analysis, Food environment