Table 2.

Key study characteristics and findings regarding the association between fast food consumption (FFC) and obesity in China.

References	Region; Year of Data Collection	Sample Size, Sex, and Age	Study Design	Outcome (Prevalence)	Main Results such as Adjusted OR (95% CI) for the Association between FFC and Overweight/Obesity
[7]	Nine provinces in China, the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS); data were collected in 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2011.	24,396 adults (11,835 men and 12,561 women); 18 years or older	Longitudinal study	BMI	Among men, an increase of one indoor restaurant in the neighborhood was associated with a 0.01 unit increase in BMI, and an increase of one fixed outdoor food stall was associated with a 0.01 unit decrease in BMI. Among women, an increase of one indoor restaurant in the neighborhood was associated with a 0.005 unit increase in BMI, and an increase of one FF restaurant and one fixed outdoor food stall was associated with a 0.02 unit and 0.004 unit decline in BMI, respectively.
[19]	Nine provinces in China, CHNS; data were collected in 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2009.	29,116 adults (13,993 men and 15,123 women); 18 years or older	Longitudinal study	BMI, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR)	Number of Western FF restaurants was positively associated with subsequent increases in WHtR and WHpR among rural population. More FF restaurants were positively associated with a future increase in WHpR for urban women. Increased availability of FF between two waves was associated with increased WHtR for urban men over the same period. A past increase in number of FF restaurants was associated with subsequent increases in WHtR and WHpR for rural population.
[21]	Kunming, China; Data were collected in 2011.	575 adolescents (sex specific sample size was not provided); 13 years or older	Cross-sectional study	BMI, overweight, obesity	Proximity to FF was positively associated with higher BMI. Adolescents who lived in the more developed inner neighborhoods had a higher prevalence of overweight.
[20]	Nine provinces in China, CHNS; data were collected in 2006.	9788 adults (4659 men, and 5129 women); 18 years or older	Cross-sectional study	Overweight/obesity	The relationship between FFC and overweight/obesity was irrelevant for Chinese segments that did not have access to FF. Factors that were most associated with segments with a higher BMI were consumers′ (incorrect) dietary knowledge, the food retail environment and sociodemographics.
[18]	Five primary and middle schools, Tianjin, China; data were collected in 2010.	3140 school children and adolescents (1559 boys and 1581 girls); 7–18 years	Cross-sectional study	Overweight/obesity	Having lunch in FF restaurant (versus home) was positively associated with overweight (OR = 2.03, 95% CI = 1.34–3.07).
[22]	The Elementary School Children’s Nutrition and Health Survey; Taiwan, China; data were collected in 2011–2002.	2283 school children (1189 boys and 1094 girls); 6–13 years	Cross-sectional study	General obesity (based on BMI) and abdominal obesity (based on waist circumference)	A high FF stores density was associated with higher BMI and abdominal obesity in boys, but not in girls.
[17]	The Child and Adolescent Metabolic Syndromes Study (BCAMS), Beijing, China; data were collected in 2004.	21,198 children (10,602 boys and 10,596 girls); 2–18 years	Cross-sectional study	Overweight/obesity	Children with western FFC ≥ 3 times per week were 1.50 times (95% CI = 1.12–2.02) as likely to be obese compared to children with FFC < 1 time per week.
[15]	Xi‘an City, China; data were collected in 2004.	1792 adolescents (899 boys and 893 girls); 11–17 years	Cross-sectional study	Overweight/obesity	Having breakfast outside the home (often likely consuming FF) was associated with overweight and obesity among females only (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.1–2.3).
[23]	Xi’an, China; data were collected in 2004.	1792 adolescents (899 boys and 893 girls); 11–17 years	Cross-sectional study	Overweight and obesity	The odds of overweight and obesity was 1.8 times (95% CI = 1.1–2.9) greater if the parents decided to have Western FF than if the children decided by themselves.
[24]	Changsha, China; data were collected in 2007.	4140 students (2209 boys and 1931 girls); 7–12 years	Cross-sectional study	Obesity	Increased consumption of fried foods was associated with obesity.
[16]	The “Better Health for Better Hong Kong” (BHBHK) Campaign, Hong Kong, China; data were collected between July 2000 and March 2002.	4841 adults (2375 men and 2466 women); 17–83 years	Cross-sectional study	Obesity	Eating out at least twice a week as compared to less than 2 times a week was associated increased odds of obesity (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.06–1.49).