20th February 2019
A total of 5,809 new takeaways have opened on UK high streets in just three-and-a-half years, a new report by the Food Foundation think-tank, which blames cheap, unhealthy food for driving Britain’s spiralling obesity crisis.
One in every four food retailers is now a takeaway, according to data analysed for the report by Cambridge University. Researchers said some places are becoming “swamped in junk food” – with fast food outlets making up almost 40% of all food retailers in the worst-hit areas.
Between June 2014 and December 2017, the number of takeaways in England rose 11%, from 52,120 to 57,929, Ordnance Survey data revealed. The report called for urgent and radical action to tackle the crisis. A third of children and two-thirds of adults in Britain are now overweight, contributing to soaring rates of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.