WALTHAM FOREST: Council claims credit for reduction in obesity

7:00am Tuesday 16th March 2010

By Carl Brown

A DROP in childhood obesity rates in Waltham Forest is partly due to the council's ban on fast food outlets opening near schools, the authority has claimed.

NHS figures show that the percentage of Year 6 pupils in the borough classified as obese has decreased slightly in the 2008/09 school year by 2.2 per cent.

There have also been slight reductions in the percentage of Year 6 pupils classified as overweight and the proportion of reception-age children classified as overweight or obese.

But a shocking one in five Year 6 pupils and one in 10 reception-age children in the borough are still obese.

The council, on the first anniversary of its policy to prevent new fast food takeaways opening within 400m of schools, leisure centres and parks, says the scheme has helped Waltham Forest “buck the trend” by reducing obesity.

This is despite the policy only being in place for the last four months of the period measured.

A total of five applications for new hot food takeaways have been made since the scheme was launched and all have been rejected.

The number of hot food takeaways in the borough has dropped from 253 to 241 during the same period.

Cllr Terry Wheeler, cabinet member for enterprise, said: “We are delighted that no new fast food outlets have opened in this borough in the last year and we are continually looking to build on our progress by looking for ways of encouraging our existing takeaways to offer healthier foods to residents.”

A council spokesman said the authority is not claiming the ban is the sole reason for the obesity decrease, and said the policy has been supported by secondary schools routinely banning pupils from leaving the premises at lunchtime.

Waltham Forest Council became the first authority in the country to impose restrictions on the opening of fast food outlets following a consultation which showed nine in 10 residents supported the move.

The authority says it has had inquiries from 15 other councils who want to set up similar schemes.

The policy has at times proved controversial, more than 100 people signed a petition against the enforced closure of Bamboo Joint, in Leytonstone High Road, which had not obtained planning permission and was close to several schools.