Location plays a role in everyday dietary temptations.
A recent study highlights a dramatic rise in UK fast food outlets, reporting a 59% increase on high streets from 2014 to 2024.
This surge coincides with worrying health statistics, with 64% of adults in England estimated to be overweight or living with obesity, the UK government confirms.
Weight loss injection experts Chemist4U investigated the UK’s unhealthiest high streets, analysing the most populated cities and unhealthy stores within a 500-metre radius.
Stores included fast food outlets, ice cream parlours, bakeries, tortilla shops and confectioneries, all categorised as “unhealthy” for the study.
St Peter’s Street in Derby tops the list, with 65 out of 141 stores within 500 metres classified as unhealthy, representing 46.1% of the street.
For visitors, that means almost half of Derby’s high street offers tempting but unhealthy food choices, from sugary snacks to greasy takeaways.
Coventry’s Hales Street ranks second, with 42.3% of stores deemed unhealthy, showing that two out of every five shops promote less nutritious options.
Southend-on-Sea’s central High Street takes third place, with 38.1% of its stores flagged unhealthy, proving the seaside town offers more than just fish and chips.
Birmingham’s New Street follows in fourth, home to 141 unhealthy stores out of 383, equating to 36.8% of the area, or more than one in three shops.
Fifth is Newport’s High Street, where 87 out of 248 stores are unhealthy, meaning more than a third of options could challenge even the strictest diet.
Other cities rounding out the top ten unhealthiest high streets include Preston, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield, all offering a high proportion of unhealthy outlets to residents and visitors.
In contrast, Chemist4U identified the UK’s healthiest high streets, with London’s Oxford Street emerging as the top location, hosting just 173 unhealthy stores out of 982, only 17.6%.
Leicester’s High Street in Black Friars ranks second healthiest, with just 16 of 90 shops flagged as unhealthy.
Liverpool’s Church Street completes the top three healthiest, with just 20.7% of stores categorised as unhealthy, showing that one in five shops only could affect diets.
Other healthier high streets include Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, Nottingham’s Bridlesmith Gate, Cardiff’s Queen Street, Belfast’s High Street, Swansea’s Oxford Street, and Sunderland’s High Street West.
Chemist4U’s findings highlight a stark contrast between the unhealthiest and healthiest high streets, emphasising how location plays a role in everyday dietary temptations and lifestyle choices.
As high street food options continue to grow, shoppers are advised to be mindful of nutritional choices, even when browsing their favourite city streets.
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