Fuel us, don't fool us: Big Food & Our Communities: Where are food chains expanding? (Out-of-home #1)

Abstract

Our food system is broken and children are paying the price with their health. Over a third of 10/11-year-olds leave primary school with an increased risk of chronic disease in their future.1 Unhealthy, and often ultraprocessed, foods have become widely accessible and aggressively marketed. Bite Back’s Fuel Us, Don’t Fool Us campaign has been shining a light on the actions of the food giants that shape our food system. An earlier investigation into the leading food and drink manufacturers found that 7 out of the top 10 businesses operating in the UK are reliant on selling products that are high in fat or sugar or salt (HFSS). Now, we are shifting our focus to the out-of-home (OOH) sector - places that feature on our high streets and in our communities that offer food prepared away from home. Rizwan, 16 What surrounds us shapes us. Food purchased out of home is higher in calories compared to similar food products purchased from retailers and manufacturers, and the majority of bestselling menu items sold in the UK OOH sector are unhealthy.2,3 At the same time, the sector has not been subject to the same level of scrutiny or regulation as retailers and manufacturers. Importantly, OOH outlets are increasingly functioning as a ‘third space’ for young people – somewhere outside of home or school where they can connect with friends and hang out – with implications for their health. The OOH sector is a large and significant part of our food environment and it has plans to keep expanding. So it should take responsibility for ensuring its influence on young people’s diets is a positive one. This first phase of our OOH research set out to uncover how much the biggest OOH outlets have expanded over the past ten years across England, Wales and Scotland, particularly around schools and in more disadvantaged communities.