MPs call for ban on fast food outlets opening near schools to tackle obesity

The brief

Fast food chains such as KFC should be stopped from opening near schools, and advertising for junk food on billboards and public transport should be banned to help curb obesity, MPs will say today. The Commons health committee will also urge ministers to stop giving in to food industry lobbying and get tough to tackle a problem that costs the UK £74bn a year and causes huge illness. Bold action is needed as the hundreds of initiatives implemented since 1992 to address rising levels of obesity have failed, according to the cross-party group of MPs. Two-thirds of adults (66%) and 28% of 13- to 15-year-olds in England are now either…