Changes in the number and outcome of takeaway food outlet planning applications in response to adoption of management zones around schools in England: a time series analysis Read the full text article here
Summary We used interrupted time series analyses to estimate the impact of takeaway management zones on changes in the number of takeaway planning applications received by LAs and the percentage they rejected. We observed an overall decrease in the number of applications received by intervention LAs at 12 months post-intervention, and an increase in the percentage of applications that were rejected at first and final decision, the latter taking into account any appeal outcomes. These proximal, process measures of effectiveness will necessarily precede any downstream retail and health impacts. Our findings suggest that management zone policies may have the potential to curb the proliferation of new takeaways near schools and subsequently impact on population health.
Changes in the number of new takeaway food outlets associated with adoption of management zones around schools: a natural experimental evaluation in England Read the full text article here
Summary By the end of 2017, 35 local authorities in England had adopted takeaway management zones around schools, designed to reduce the number of new takeaways. These are sometimes referred to as takeaway “exclusion zones”. In this study, we assessed the impact of these zones on takeaways and chain fast-food outlets. Using data from up to six years before and after adoption, we found that there was a decrease in the number of new takeaways opening within management zones. Six years after the intervention, there was an 81% reduction in new takeaway openings per local authority, compared to what would have been otherwise expected. Overall, 54% fewer new takeaways opened than expected over these six years. There was no change in the number of new takeaways on the outskirts of zones, or in the presence of new chain fast-food outlets within zones. These results suggest that takeaway management zones effectively limited the growth.
Planning guidance to limit hot food takeaways: understanding the possible economic impacts Revisions under review at Heliyon
When local authorities attempt to introduce takeaway management zones, they can face objections from representatives of the takeaway industry about the potential for negative economic impacts. However, the economic impacts have not previously been studied. We developed a flowchart to provide an overview of the potential economic impacts of takeaway management zones in terms of the local business community, the local authority, the national government and the National Health Service. These potential economic impacts include changes in the local labour market in terms of the number and type of jobs available, which in turn has impacts on the government tax receipts and benefit expenditure. Other potential economic impacts include reductions in healthcare spending and reductions in sickness absence from work. Overall, this research highlights the complex nature of the potential economic impacts due to takeaway management zones.
Public acceptability of proposals to manage new takeaway food outlets near schools: cross-sectional analysis of the 2021 International Food Policy Study Read the full text article here
Summary “Some councils in England are adopting takeaway management zones around schools. The long term purpose of these zones is to help people to eat better by preventing an increase in the number of takeaways operating in the places where we buy food.”
Imagine you were asked for your opinion about proposals from your local council to adopt these zones… would you offer your support? Do you think they would be effective in helping people to eat better? How do you think that the zones would work?
We asked these types of questions during an online survey in 2021.
Here’s how over 3300 adults living across England, Scotland and Wales answered.
- More than half said they would support proposals from their local council to adopt takeaway management zones around schools.
- Less than one in ten said they would be against proposals, and about a third said that they had a neutral perspective.
- Most reported that takeaway management zones around schools would be effective in helping people to eat better.
- They typically agreed that if there were fewer takeaways near schools then other types of food outlets could open, schools would find it easier to promote healthy food and young people would eat takeaway food less often.
We’re encouraged by our findings because they suggest that adults living in Great Britain already support takeaway management zones. This could be important from a political perspective because it might mean that there will be little direct opposition from members of the public if they propose to adopt a measure that can manage if, how and when takeaways are allowed to open. In turn, this might increase local council backing for such measures.
Improving the diet and health of young people is one rationale for adopting takeaway management zones near schools. Because of this, we also asked 16 and 17 year olds what they thought having fewer takeaways near schools might achieve. We used information from over 350 responses to try and better understand their perspectives.
Generally speaking, the young people who answered our questions believed that if there were fewer takeaways near schools then other young people would not:
- travel to takeaways further away from school to buy the food they wanted;
- have food delivered to schools or buy unhealthy food from other places;
- necessarily eat takeaway food less often.
We’re optimistic about our findings because it might be that adopting takeaway management zones around schools would not accidentally encourage young people to seek out takeaway food from places that could have only opened further away. However, our findings indicate that young people buy takeaway food outside of school times or from places that are not near their school, meaning that we need to think about other types of food and other types of shops. We also need to think about the other ways that takeaway food can be purchased like through online food delivery service platforms.
The findings from our recently published research suggest that takeaway management zones near schools would be supported by adults. However, it might be that further measures that consider the other places where we purchase food are needed.
Retailer responses to the proposals for takeaway exclusion zones around schools: a longitudinal qualitative analysis of public consultations from 2009-2019 This paper has been accepted for publication by International Journal of Health Policy and Management. We’ll link to the full text article as soon as it becomes available.
Summary Local authorities in England can adopt takeaway management zones near schools (referred to elsewhere as ‘exclusion zones’) to decide if, when, and where new takeaway food outlets can open. The primary aim of these zones is to improve population health, especially among young people. Between 2009 and 2019, internationally established fast-food retailers consistently objected to the adoption of takeaway management zones near schools. Fast-food retailers claimed that there was little evidence to support takeaway management zone adoption. They also made poor diet and health out to be the result of a single cause that was unrelated to the food they sold. Doing so meant that they could propose alternative interventions that would not stop them from opening new outlets in the future. The findings from our research have highlighted the ways that internationally established fast-food retailers prioritise their future development and profits over population health, especially of the next generation.