Restricting Takeaway Outlets May Boost Fight against Obesity, Experts Suggest

Lisa Franchi March 14, 2014

Exposure to too many pizza and fried-food outlets can nearly double people’s risk of obesity, say UK researchers. According to them, measures to restrict access, such as not opening takeaway restaurants near schools, may help fight the obesity epidemic.

Epidemiologists at Cambridge University analysed the food habits of 5,000 adults born in Cambridgeshire between 1950 and 1975. They looked at the workers’ consumption of takeaway food – including hamburgers, pizza, fried food and chips – at home, work and on their commute.

Other factors were taken into account, such as education, income and smoking habits. Even so, the researchers found that greater access to takeaway food was linked with higher body mass index and higher odds of obesity.

"Those most exposed to takeaway food outlets overall were nearly twice as likely to be obese, compared to those least exposed." lead author Dr Thomas Burgoine told BBC News. "Our research suggests that policies to make our neighbourhood more healthy by restricting access to takeaway food might be successful,"

In the country, several local authorities have introduced restrictions on fast-food outlets, around schools or in places where there are already lots of takeaways.

But not all experts agree. One of them is Dr Kathryn Neckerman, of Columbia University, New York who also carried out a similar research and found conflicting results on the link between fast-food exposure and obesity. In her study, children in neighbourhoods with a lot of fast-food restaurants were slimmer. She said instead of restricting takeaway food, scientists should seek to transform it. "Healthy takeaway food should not only be available, it should be as visible, tasty, and cheap as unhealthy food."

"It is difficult now to imagine a world in which broccoli rivals chips at the takeaway counter, but small steps in this direction are already being taken." Dr Neckerman added.

Meanwhile, Tracy Parker, a heart health dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said "We already know that people are spending more than ever on takeaways and food eaten away from home, and that these foods are often less healthy than the meals we make ourselves.” In the study, it was found that the average person encounters 32 takeaway restaurants around their home, workplace and travelling between the two. "This is a worrying trend given that a quarter of adults in the UK are already obese, putting them at greater risk of heart disease. He added that even though the study can’t prove whether their local environments can cause people to become obese, it is vital to have tools to help people make healthy choices when eating takeaways or dining in at restaurants.

The study was published in the British Medical Journal.

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Takeaway clampdowns ’may combat obesity epidemic’