Q. I am carrying out research on the Social Determinants of Health with a specific focus on the location of fast food outlets. Where can I find this information and the related statistics on this topic?
It would be best to check out the GOV UK website of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.
The page below is particularly useful for your research:
Wider Determinants of Health: statistical commentary on the location of fast food outlets, February 2025
For this analysis fast food has been defined as food that is energy dense and available quickly, usually via a counter service, and for consumption on or off the premises. It covers a range of outlets selling foods including, but not limited to:
- burgers
- pizza
- kebabs
- chicken
- Indian takeaway
- Chinese takeaway
- fish and chips
Main findings
The 2024 data shows:
-
in England there were 115.9 fast food outlets per 100,000 population
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the number of fast food outlets per 100,000 population in England has increased since our baseline in 2017 of 98.3 per 100,000 population - 2017 data is available in table 2 of the accompanying data tables on the Wider Determinants of Health: February 2025 update page
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fast food outlets per 100,000 population ranges across upper and lower tier local authorities from 39.2 in Wokingham to 2,406.8 in City of London (City of London is an outlier in the data). The local authorities with the next highest values are Camden with 417.4 fast food outlets per 100,000 population and Westminster with 248.2 per 100,000
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fast food outlets per 100,000 population in the most deprived decile of lower tier local authorities are double the level in the least deprived decile: 146.6 per 100,000 population compared with 73.1 - see the data split by deprivation level as a chart in the Fingertips profile
References
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Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (2022). Sugar reduction programme: industry progress 2015 to 2020 (viewed on 17 January 2025). ↩
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Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (2024). Calorie reduction programme: industry progress 2017 to 2021 (viewed on 17 January 2025). ↩