A study conducted by RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, has found that a law by Los Angeles designed to solve the obesity problem in low-income areas by banning the opening of new fast-food restaurants has failed to reduce consumption of fast-food. The ordinance has also failed to reduce obesity rates in the targeted neighborhoods, the study found.

According to reports, the fast-food restrictions in the Los Angeles were passed in 2008. The new study has found that obesity rates in South Los Angeles and other targeted neighborhoods have increased faster than other parts of the city. The study by RAND Corporation has been published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

Roland Sturm, a senior economist at RAND and lead author of the study, said it could be a good step to curb obesity and the South Los Angeles fast food ban may have symbolic value, but it has failed to achieve its target. “This should not come as a surprise: Most food outlets in the area are small food stores or small restaurants with limited seating that are not affected by the policy”, Sturm added.

The law is a zoning regulation that bans the opening of new restaurants in Baldwin Hills, Leimert Park, and portions of South Los Angeles and Southeast Los Angeles. According to the report, about 700,000 residents live in those areas. The city is not the first to ban fast-food outlets, but it was the first one presented as a public health measure by advocates.

Sturm and co-author of the study Aiko Hattori of the University of North Carolina analyzed the fast-food restriction by examining information from two different sources. They tracked permits issued by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which licenses and inspects all food outlets.