Figures are hard to swallow

If you’re looking for a fast food takeaway look no further than the poorest part of town.

New figures from Public Health England confirm what we already knew or suspected: The less affluent the area, the more likely you are to find chip shops, burger bars or pizza places.

And with that proliferation of calorie-laden foodstuffs come areas where obesity among the population is rife.

The statistics, while not surprising, are of concern.

It is of particular concern in our community, given the obesity levels among children.

Across England, more than a third of children are obese by the time they leave primary school. In our deprived communities, that figures is even higher.

Fast food outlets are a fact of life in our modern society, but there can be too many concentrated in the wrong areas.

The council can play a part in helping shape the environment and influencing people to make healthier choices.

It is part of our council’s policy to monitor and affect change.

Dr Geoffrey Walker outlines Sunderland City Council’s new Local Plan which aims, quite sensibly, to not only limit the number of hot food takeaways in the city but also to promote healthy eating across the community.

That is all very well and the policy is a sensible one given the figures revealed today, but the council cannot be help responsible for the individual choices being made.

Planners can restrict the number of fast food outlets and offer support to families on eating healthily, but it is up to the individual to do the right thing.

If we continue to make the wrong choices, we only have ourselves to blame.