Hot Food Takeaways – Location and Proximity to Schools: Health Context and Obesity Statistics

Figures released in November 2018 showed that 62% of adults in Northern Ireland were either overweight or obese; with 56% of women classed as either overweight or obese, and 68% of men classed as either overweight or obese. This is an increase from figures released in 2012, where approximately 59% of adults in Northern Ireland in 2010/2011 were either overweight or obese. Figures for childhood obesity in Northern Ireland in 2018/2019 were also a cause for concern, as around a quarter (27%) of children aged 2-15 were classed as either overweight or obese. Within Belfast LGD, figures released in September 2019 showed that 59% of adults were either overweight or obese. Whilst this is lower to the regional figures for Northern Ireland, this is an increase from 2010/2011 when approximately 56% of adults in Belfast were either overweight or obese. In 2016/17 – 2018/19, approximately 21% of primary 1 children in Belfast LGD were either overweight or obese and approximately 30% of year 8 children were either overweight or obese. Belfast LGD contains the nine most deprived Super Output Areas (SOA) in Northern Ireland; and the levels of childhood obesity in year 8 children in these areas was slightly higher than the LGD as a whole. In 2016/17 – 2018/19, approximately 21% of primary 1 children in the most deprived areas in Belfast were either overweight or obese, whilst approximately 33% of year 8 children in the most deprived areas in Belfast were 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 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.