Hot Food Takeaways Near Schools - Policy Context

Within Belfast, around a quarter of children are either overweight or obese. Addressing obesity in children is a regional priority with a target of 3% reduction of obesity and 2% reduction of overweight and obesity levels in children in Northern Ireland by 2022. A core principle of the SPPS and the LDP is to improve health and well-being through the provision of local policies, and the Belfast Agenda seeks to ensure that everyone in Belfast experiences good health and well-being. Whilst hot food takeaways do not directly cause obesity, they generally provide cheap, energy dense and nutrient poor foods, acting as a barrier to improving health and well-being. A distance of 400m is recognised as a 5-10 minutes' walk, a reasonable distance which a child could walk during lunch or after school to purchase food.