THE MALVERN Hills district has the fewest number of fast food outlets in the West Midlands but neighbouring Worcester is near the top, according to figures published by Public Health England.
The Department for Health has published a map showing the density of fast food outlets across the UK to help in the fight against obesity.
Accompanied by data, the map shows the number of fast food outlets including burger bars, kebab and chip shops within each local authority area and how it compares to the population in each area.
The density of fast food outlets in local authorities ranges from 24 to 199 per 100,000 of the population. The average rate for England is 88.
The figures show the Malvern Hills district to have just 35 outlets which works out at a rate of 46.1 per 100,000 of the population.
But Worcester was the third highest in the West Midlands with a total of 101 fast food outlets.
Across the region, the local authority with the highest density of fast-food outlets per 100,000 population is Stoke-on-Trent (119.9 per 100,000 people), contrasting with Northumberland, which stands at 85.4 per 100,000 people.
Public Health England wants local authorities to use the data to help tackle overweight and obesity levels.
Dr Lola Abudu, director of Health and Wellbeing at PHE West Midlands, said: “Having fish and chips or a curry is part of Britain’s culture, however over a fifth of adults and children eat takeaway meals at home more than once a week, which is contributing to the nation’s obesity epidemic.
“Some local authorities are already trying to limit new takeaways, particularly around schools and we understand a number of councils in the West Midlands region are looking to do this, in order to discourage children from swapping their healthy school dinners for fast food. PHE encourages all councils to follow in their footsteps, as a healthy environment is a core element in tackling childhood obesity.
“We hope this data will prove useful to local authorities, to inform their planning processes, approving and licensing takeaway outlets and help with their long-term approaches to tackling obesity.”
