Rise in fast food outlets across the Midlands as obesity rates reach record high

New figures show that the number of fast food outlets has risen dramatically over the last eight years across the Midlands.

Leicester gained 130 takeaways in eight years, and Stoke-on-Trent gained 55.

• The UK has seen a rise of 34% in fast food outlets from 2010 to 2018.

• In 2010, the average number of fast food outlets per 100,000 people was 47. It had risen to 61 by 2018.

• The rate of severe obesity among year 6 children (aged 10 to 11) is at a record-high, up by more than a third since 2006 to 4.2%, according to Public Health England.

Number of fast food restaurants across the Midlands in 2010 and 2018, according to analysis from the Office of National Statistics:

• Leicester 165 > 295

• Stoke on Trent 120 > 175

• Sandwell 140 > 220

• Birmingham 515 > 735

• Nottinghamshire 120 > 210

• Peterborough 95 > 125

• Derby 120 > 160

• Walsall 115 > 175

• Wolverhampton 120 > 160

• Coventry 155 > 210

• Dudley 145 > 185

• Derbyshire 305> 425

• Lincolnshire 315 > 395

• Northamptonshire 310 > 385

• Staffordshire 350 > 445

• Worcestershire 235 > 300

• Shropshire 130 > 160

• Leicestershire 250 > 335

• Nottinghamshire 320 > 395

• Warwickshire 235 > 270

• Herefordshire 75 > 80

• Rutland 10 >15

• Solihull 70 > 80