Takeaways feed Nottinghamshire obesity epidemic

Links between takeaways and social deprivation in Nottinghamshire have been revealed in a shock report.

Figures released by Public Health England show a direct link between areas with a large amount of takeaway outlets and deprivation.

Mansfield district has a ratio of 96.3 fast food outlets per 100,000 people, with 102 businesses across the authority’s patch,

Ashfield has a ratio of 84.9 outlets with 104 businesses, Newark and Sherwood has a ratio of 78 outlets with 78 businesses, Broxtowe has a ratio of 89.5 with 100 businesses and Bassetlaw has a ratio of 74.5 with 85 businesses.

The report shows Mansfield has a deprivation score of 27.8, Ashfield follows with 25.4, Newark and Sherwood with 18.8, Broxtowe with 14.3 and Bassetlaw with 22.7.

The health watchdog is now encouraging people to take steps to manage their own health and diet, as well as calling for councils to work together to help ensure a healthy environment for residents.

Data from the National Child Measurement Programme shows there are more overweight or obese children in poorer areas, and PHE East Midlands hopes councils can use this data to help target resources towards tackling obesity, for example, by looking to introduce fast food exclusion zones around schools.

Ann Crawford, deputy director for health and wellbeing at PHE East Midlands, said: “Having a takeaway is part of Britain’s culture, however, more than a fifth of adults and children eat takeaway meals at home more than once a week, which is not helping the nation’s obesity epidemic.”

“Planning and public health share common goals around increasing access to physical activity, availability of healthy food choices, liveability and the quality of public spaces. These shared aims give us valuable opportunities for collaboration – there may be constraints of planning law, cost or political will but we must start talking about how we can work together to tackle today’s obesogenic environment.”

PHE will be working with restaurants, cafés and fast food outlets to reduce the amount of sugar, saturated fat, salt and calories in the food and drink they serve and increase the range of healthier options they offer. This will help to tackle overweight and obesity in children as part of the government’s Childhood Obesity Plan.

For more information on the report, visit https://www.noo.org.uk/visualisation