• Gina S A Trapp, Paula Hooper, Lukar Thornton, Kelly Kennington, Ainslie Sartori, Miriam Hurworth, and Wesley Billingham.
• Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia; School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: gina.trapp@telethonkids.org.au.
• Nutrition. 2021 Nov 1; 91-92: 111488.

ObjectivesWe sought to investigate the association between food-outlet availability near Australian secondary schools and frequency of Australian students' discretionary food purchases.MethodsSecondary-school students in Perth (Western Australia) reported the frequency of their discretionary food purchases from food outlets near their school (17 schools, n = 2389 students grades 7-12, ages 12-17 y). Food-outlet availability was sourced from local governments, then geocoded. A mixed-effects model was used in analyses.ResultsAlmost half of students (45%) purchased discretionary foods from food outlets near their secondary school at least weekly. Only the density of top-ranking fast-food chain outlets near secondary schools was associated with a significant increase in the frequency of discretionary food purchases.ConclusionsAvailability of major fast-food chains near Australian secondary schools appears to be a key driver of Australian students' discretionary food purchasing. Restricting these outlets near schools may help reduce adolescents' discretionary food intake.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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