Every high street we walk on to, every leisure or shopping centre we visit, tend to have a fast food restaurant of some kind on its premises. Nowadays we live in a world where many people turn to a fast food restaurants as they are convenient, but are these chains having a bad effect on our the health of our society?

Wallington High School for Girls is situated about ten minutes away from Wallington high street, and located exactly opposite the bus stop on that road, is a fast food restaurant. Should you be on the high street at the end of the school day, you will notice many girls crowding around to get their chicken and chips. A mother of two of the students at this school has mentioned her concerns, as she says that her daughters are, ‘more likely’ to buy the unhealthy food from there simply because of its location. Is having an unhealthy food shop near a school a good idea?

It is true that this restaurant causes controversy amongst the parents and carers of the girls at the school, however, directly opposite this school on the other side of the road is a corner shop; filled with sweets, chocolate, and crisps for students to buy. Once again, students spend their money afterschool on unhealthy and overpriced snacks which only harms their health and well-being. This one example demonstrates the intense spread of unhealthy food in our local area, and nothing is being done to prevent or even educate children on what food is classified as substantial and what is only a treat.

Eating from unhealthy fast food areas has now become a social norm, due to the convenience and ease of getting and eating it. However the location of these restaurants does not make it easy for children to avoid eating this food.  Perhaps something urgently needs to be done in order to prevent us living in an unhealthy environment.