Fresh Ideas: No fast food solution

From Pacific Standard: "The obesity rate has risen enormously over the past 50 years, even as the fast food chain restaurant has become ubiquitous. Reasonably enough, many people have suggested there is a link between these two trends, and some research has backed up the idea.

"Based on the hope that limiting access to grease-intensive eateries would encourage diners to choose healthier alternatives, many municipalities used tax codes or zoning ordinances to restrict their proliferation. … So is this attempt at social engineering effective? A law that banned new fast food restaurants in some Los Angeles neighborhoods was clearly not: A 2015 Rand Corp. study found that, over a five-year period, obesity in areas covered by (a Los Angeles) law actually rose faster than the overall city rate."