Inner city fast food outlets linked to diabetes and obesity

A new study has revealed there are twice the number of fast-food outlets in inner cities, which can be linked to diabetes and obesity.
Research from the University of Leicester found these outlets were within 500 metres of high density non-white ethnic minority groups and socially deprived neighbourhoods.
The study was based on 10,000 people in the UK, with researchers warning that important implications for diabetes prevention can be taken from these findings.
The researchers, writing in the journal Public Health Nutrition, said that two additional outlets per neighbourhood resulted in the expectation of one additional diabetes case. This was assuming a causal relationship between the two.
Diabetes and obesity
Obesity is one the factors that can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, which is assessed by having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater.
Lead researcher, Prof Kamlesh Khunti from the University of Leicester, said: “The results are quite alarming and have major implications for public health interventions to limit the number of fast-food outlets in more deprived areas.
“This number differed substantially by key demographics, including ethnicity; people of non-white ethnicity had more than twice the number of fast-food outlets in their neighbourhood compared with White Europeans.
“We found that the number of fast-food outlets in a person’s neighbourhood was associated with an increased risk of screen-detected type 2 diabetes and obesity.”