Longer Commutes Are Linked to More Fast Food Runs, Study Finds

Some 76% of the American workforce commutes to and from work every day. According to a report by Bankrate, commute times vary greatly from state to state, but New Yorkers do have the longest commute, with an average travel time of 33.2 minutes each way. But, as another new study by researchers at the University of Illinois’ College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences shows, adding even a few minutes to your average commute time can seriously impact your food cravings. 

In February, the researchers published their study titled “Slow traffic, fast food: The effects of time lost on food store choice” in the Journal of Urban Economics. The aim of the work, the researchers noted, was to understand the causal effect of “time lost on food choice.” It specifically tracked how traffic delays in Los Angeles affected people’s eating patterns. It found that on higher traffic days, commuters are more likely to visit fast food restaurants and less likely to go to a grocery store to purchase food for prep at home. 

To come to this conclusion, the researchers used data tracking highway traffic patterns over a more than two-year span in Los Angeles and tracked cell phone data that followed users entering fast-food restaurants over the same timeframe. It then used that information to create a model showing the link between unexpected traffic and visits to fast food establishments.

“In our analysis focusing on Los Angeles County, unexpected traffic delays beyond the usual congestion led to a 1% increase in fast food visits,” Becca Taylor, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois, and author of the study, shared in a statement. “That might not sound like a lot, but it’s equivalent to 1.2 million more fast food visits per year in LA County alone. We describe our results as being modest but meaningful in terms of potential for changing unhealthy food choices.” 

According to the study, this outcome is more pronounced for afternoon rush hour traffic over the morning commute. 

There also didn’t need to be a major traffic delay. According to the findings, just a 30-second per-mile delay was enough to increase someone’s odds of getting fast food rather than preparing a meal at home.

While this study is specific to Los Angeles, it’s easy to see how this same pattern could emerge across other heavy commuter zones — something the authors believe should be front and center in the minds of policymakers. 

“Our results contribute to the literature suggesting time constraints are really important to the food choices people make. Any policies aimed at loosening time constraints — and traffic is essentially lost time — could help battle unhealthy eating,” Taylor added. “That could mean improvements in infrastructure to mitigate traffic congestion, expanding public transport availability, and potentially increasing work-from-home opportunities.”