Empowering Communities To Promote Health: Stopping New Hot Food Takeaways From Targeting Children

The Obesity Health Alliance (OHA) is supporting recently announced reforms to the planning system to protect children’s health by preventing new hot food takeaways from opening where they can target children where they learn and play, or where they may affect the health of local communities.  As the Chief Medical Officer for England’s Annual report (also out today) states, ‘The food environment in parts of cities entrenches inequalities in health and promotes obesity’ and ‘Public health and planning are intrinsically linked [i].

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) previously only required councils to “enable and support healthy lifestyles.” However, this new policy contains an explicit direction to ‘prioritise preventing ill health’, giving councils responsibility and power to act in the best interests of their communities, and on takeaways states:

Local planning authorities should refuse applications for hot food takeaways and fast food outlets:

a) within walking distance of schools and other places where children and young people congregate, unless the location is within a designated town centre; or

b) in locations where there is evidence that a concentration of such uses is having an adverse impact on local health, pollution or anti-social-behaviour.

Areas of deprivation have a heavy concentration of hot food takeaway concentrating on a limited range of products high in fat, sugar and salt, a high density of advertising of unhealthy foods and limited shopping opportunities. In areas of deprivation:

• Children are twice as likely to develop obesity by age five and one in three do so by the time they leave primary school.

• There are up to five times more fast-food outlets than wealthier areas, limiting access to healthier food options.

• Research shows exposure to more takeaways is associated with unhealthy dietary habits.

Food from hot food takeaways typically contains more calories, sugar, salt, and fat than food purchased in supermarkets, with portion sizes often larger. Evidence from England highlights that takeaways near schools are convenient, affordable options for pupils, but that they contribute to unhealthy dietary habits and rising obesity rates.

To find out more about this go to: https://obesityhealthalliance.org.uk/2024/12/12/takeaways/