Measuring the association between the opening of a new multi-national restaurant with young people's eating behaviours.

Out-of-home eating (takeaway, take-out and fast-foods) is associated with intakes of higher energy and fat, and lower intakes of micronutrients, and is associated with excess weight gain. In 2017, a unique opportunity arose to measure the association between the opening of a new multi-national fast-food restaurant (McDonald's) and consumption of fast-food on young people aged 11-16. This study uses a repeated cross-sectional design to explore group level change over time with respect to out-of-home eating behaviours of young people. Two secondary schools in Redcar and Cleveland agreed to participate and facilitated the completion of a questionnaire on their pupils eating behaviours at three timepoints a) prior to the new restaurant opening, b) three months post-opening and c) nine months post opening. Reported frequency of visits to McDonald's showed a statistically significant increase in visits between 3 and 9 months of the restaurant opening. This research asks and explores the question of whether the introduction of a new multi-national fast-food restaurant influences eating habits of young people attending schools near the new outlet.

'Acceleration' of the food delivery marketplace: Perspectives of local authority professionals in the North-East of England on temporary COVID regulations.

In January 2021, we assessed the implications of temporary regulations in the United Kingdom allowing pubs and restaurants to operate on a takeaway basis without instigating a change of use. Local authorities (LAs) across the North-East of England were unaware of any data regarding the take-up of these regulations, partially due to ongoing capacity issues; participants also raised health concerns around takeaway use increasing significantly. One year on, we repeated the study aiming to understand the impact of these regulations on the policy and practice of key professional groups. Specifically, we wanted to understand if LAs were still struggling with staff capacity to address the regulations, whether professionals still had public health trepidations, and if any unexpected changes had occurred across the local food environment because of the pandemic. We conversed with 16 public health professionals, planners and environmental health officers across seven LAs throughout the North-East of England via focus groups and interviews. Data collated were analysed via an inductive and semantic, reflexive-thematic approach. Through analysis of the data, three themes were generated and are discussed throughout: popular online delivery services as a mediator to increased takeaway usage; potential long-term health implications and challenges; continued uncertainty regarding the temporary regulations. This paper highlights important changes to local food environments, which public health professionals should be aware of, so they are better equipped to tackle health inequalities across urban and sub-urban areas.

Youth, alcohol and place-based leisure behaviours: a study of two locations in England.

Excessive alcohol consumption among young people in England regularly features in national media and has been a focus of recent academic research and government policy. Though the majority of young people do not regularly drink excessively, heavy sessional drinking - 'binge' drinking - is associated with negative health and social consequences for those who do. Alcohol-related health problems in young people are not spread consistently across England, however, and while there are significant intra-regional differences, northern regions fare worse overall than those in the south. This paper draws on an 18-month project which explored differences in the physical, social and regulatory environments (highlighted by previous research as influential) in two locations with contrasting alcohol harm profiles. The paper focuses on the lives of 15-16 year olds and examines potential differences that influence behaviour at this crucial age; and in particular issues that might presage risky and/or harmful drinking in young adulthood. The study examines evidence from young people themselves (activity diaries and interviews); stakeholder interviews; and observation analysis. The study finds social practices in the two areas to be largely similar; moreover, the collectivised and social nature of alcohol consumption suggests sources of influence from a wider context, beyond immediate family and friendship groups. However these social practices were acted out in locations with very different physical characteristics, in particular these related to the availability of non-alcohol focused leisure activities and the spatial arrangement/visibility of adult drinking culture.