Southend council could limit the prevalence of fast-food outlets near schools
Figures show nearly a quarter of four to five-year-olds in the city are obese before starting school
An Essex council could limit the prevalence of fast-food outlets near to schools, as they aim to crackdown on child obesity.
It's as figures show nearly a quarter (22.7%) of four to five-year-olds in Southend are overweight or obese before even starting school.
This rises to 33.8% by Year 6, with rates notably higher among low-income families.
The city's council are asking for residents' opinions on new planning powers aimed at tackling or limiting outlets near schools.
Southend has a total of 219 fast-food outlets, above the national average per population and these are concentrated among the most deprived areas of the city.
The council has also noted that the rise of online food delivery apps and children’s easy access to them, can make it even more challenging to tackle the obesity crisis.
It is calling on local delivery firms to take more responsibility to ensure that children are not targeted by their marketing and that healthier choices are promoted.
Krishna Ramkhelawon, Southend’s Director of Public Health, said: “Post-pandemic, the struggle to address childhood obesity has shown no sign of easing.”
Cllr Maxine Sadza, Cabinet Member for Social Care and Healthier Communities, said: “Childhood obesity is one of the biggest public health issues facing Southend, and the UK."
"We are looking at a whole range of preventative measures to tackle this, from healthy eating and menus in primary schools, to increased physical activity through our leisure centres, as well as targeted support for the most vulnerable communities, such as weight management in our family centres.
“We know how challenging it can be to provide healthy meals at home for low-income families and that there is a higher proportion of fast-food outlets within these communities.
"The rise of online food delivery apps can make it even more challenging to make healthier choices after a tough day of work or looking after families.
“But what we are asking is for more responsibility from the local delivery firms, as well as those household names, like Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat, to ensure that children are not targeted by their marketing and that healthier choices are promoted, wherever possible."
Cllr Anne Jones, Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing, added: “The evidence suggests that behaviour change alone will have very little impact on this growing public health challenge."
"We know that we also need a call to action from policy-makers, both nationally and locally, partners and our school communities to join forces to help deliver more impactful change to improve outcomes.
“This may mean that we also need to look hard at our own planning powers to limit the prevalence of fast-food outlets near to schools.
"With the rise of online food delivery apps, we know that it's not just the physical location of these outlets, but we need to look at how planning can assist in reducing health inequalities.”
The Director of Public Health & Executive Director for Children’s Services will be writing to a number of local delivery firms, as well as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat, to ask for them to take on more accountability.