changes influencing caloric intake. These data suggest that changes in fast food restaurant prices contributed $2\mathrm{.}3\%$ to the observed increases in BMI, whereas the proliferation of restaurants in general accounts for $12\mathrm{.}2\%$ of the change.

Blue bars correspond to increases in obesity for the period of the study and orange bars are for severe obesity, a condition defined as excessive weight that substantially impacts mortality. For this variable, the two largest contributors are the proliferation of restaurants, accounting for $22\mathrm{.}9\%$ of the change, and supercenters, which account for $24\mathrm{.}1\%$ of the increase.

While it is common to attribute an increase in obesity to the consumption of fast food, or to the fact that fresh healthful foods like fruits and vegetables are often more expensive than unhealthy processed foods, these data suggest surprising conclusions. While the availability of cheap fast food and the price for fresh produce definitely contribute to the trend of increasing obesity, both variables pale in comparison to the impact that supercenters have overall. The proliferation of supercenters has the greatest bearing on severe obesity of all those measured in this study, accounting for nearly a quarter of the trend.

These data clearly indicate that supercenters are in fact detrimental to communities. People who are concerned about their health and long$-$term wellbeing should oppose the development of new supercenters no matter how tempting the promise of cheap prices may seem. ${?}^2$

The data presented in the graph show that the increased availability of restaurants accounts for more than of the rise in severe obesity over the course of the study period.

The proliferation of supercenters explains a more than rise in BMI. In terms of BMI, supercenters have $5\%$ greater impact than restaurants.