As seen in the linked article, UK based Birmingham City Council is taking a stand against the ever-expanding empire of fast food outlets within its jurisdiction. In this instance, the high street has become saturated (pardon the pun) with this type of convenience. The council, commendably, are now issuing a cap on the opening of new outlets. In this recent era of economic uncertainty local council would normally welcome new enterprise with open arms, and numerous incentives are available for the budding entrepreneur. It would seem however, for Birmingham at least, this desire for business regeneration should be married with a social responsibility. I for one am very much in favour.

The leader of this new initiative is Cllr Steve Bedser (Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing). Cllr Bedser has been interviewed extensively on the matter, gaining national coverage. This coverage in itself is a large tick in the box for me. The rationale behind the initiative has been communicated clearly by Cllr Bedser, and incorporates clear concise intervention plans. I am a big believer that ‘lifestyle education’ will be the key factor for lifestyle betterment. This coverage is a brief educational snippet for the reader, listener or viewer and may just provide that spark to make a much more informed decision about their food choice in the future.

Now, the numbers in this piece speak for themselves; nearly two thirds of people in the Birmingham area are overweight, obese or morbidly obese. These figures sit above that of the current national averages. As for the fast food outlets, there is a staggering one shop per 1,097 people in the city boundaries. What sits quite perfectly in the article is the throw back to the 1930’s, with the depiction of a thriving greengrocer in the Birmingham suburb of Lea Village. A local resident quoted “it was always busy, tons of potatoes, every fruit and vegetable under the sun, all piled up in huge displays”. Now, to throw forward to 2014, nearly one quarter of all shops in the very same suburb are fast food outlets. The contrasting mental imagery is startling.

For me however, the most provoking part of this article is a comment from a local takeaway worker who mentioned that his shop was very popular with school children that often pop in en route home from school. This particular outlet specialises in kebab meat-topped pizzas. Here, the key word for me is ‘often’. It paints a picture of habituation for these young people, a practice engrained in their daily life that will surely contribute to the earlier mentioned statistics.

It is easy to see why the density of outlets in one area fuels poor lifestyle choices simply by being exposed to the option. Of course, the issue of lifestyle related illness is a multifaceted one, which by this very virtue will require a multifaceted response. Cllr Bedser’s initiative is certainly a step in the right direction against the alarming expansion of fast food outlets in their area. Donning my cynical hat for a moment, I do note that the council is aiming to stop the alarming ‘expansion’ of ‘new’ takeaway shops, i.e. the outlets currently trading will remain in place and available for custom. They therefore are still an extremely convenient and all too often low cost option for the people. This cynicism however should not detract from the commendable action of Birmingham City Council. It is one step, but every journey towards change has to start with a step.

Neil Maguire (Research Associate)

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