Welcome to Britain’s obesity capital – where 98 takeaways line the streets and a jumbo burger and fries costs just £3.
We spent 24 hours meeting locals and business owners in the Merseyside borough of Knowsley – now officially the unhealthiest postcode in the country.
The area – which covers eight towns and villages including Prescot and Kirkby - has the highest obesity rate in England.
It’s a place where kids as young as eight have diabetes and over three-quarters of adults are clinically overweight.
One senior healthcare professional admitted: “The vast majority of people you see are big – it’s become so common we now think it’s normal.”
Our visit came as shocking national statistics reveal nearly one in four children aged between 10 and 11 are clinically obese.
And the number of kids admitted to hospitals in England with weight-related conditions has increased more than fivefold, hitting a record 9,431 in 2022.
In Knowsley, the situation is so bad that over 20 per cent of children with a healthy weight aged five are classified as obese by their 11th birthday.
It’s all too familiar for Dr Senthil Senniappan, who heads up one of the UK’s first excess weight clinics for under-18s at the nearby Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
The consultant paediatric Endocrinologist told us: “The complications we see due to excess weight in children include anything from type two diabetes to high blood pressure, liver problems, mobility issues and sleep apnea - when you experience breathing difficulties during sleep.
“It’s quite dreadful to think, but we also see a lot of teenagers with bed sores – a condition normally associated with elderly and chronically ill patients who can’t get out of bed.
“A lot of these children get bullied at school due to their weight so they don’t want to leave the house and then mental health becomes a problem, somore than half the patients we see also suffer from anxiety and or depression.”
The fate of local kids is partly down to Knowsley’s high number of so-called food swamps – areas with little other than fast food outlets with very little in the way of fresh produce.
In Prescot, the main thoroughfare is served by four takeaways, a cafe, two convenience stores and a garage.
But a walk to the closest supermarket and back takes 50 minutes.
And in nearby Knowsley, a primary school sits no more than 100 yards from a KFC, McDonald’s and Taco Bell.
Some 200 yards away you’ll find a chippy where an extra large sausage dinner will set you back less than a fiver.
Local Edna Dean, 67, told how her 30-year-old son has just been diagnosed with type two diabetes due to a diet of chicken nuggets and chips.
She said: “He’d eat a lot of cheap freezer food and stuff like that, he was always on his computer and rarely left the house.
“That was the norm among his friends growing up and he says he’s done it to himself.”
But back in nearby Kirkby – which is served by four bakeries and two budget supermarkets – locals say making snacks more expensive isn’t the solution.
Mandy Miller, who owns burger joint Mandy’s Fuel Stop, said: “It’s not takeaways like ours that are necessarily contributing to the problem because parents would still go into supermarkets and buy cheap frozen food.
“I think there needs to be more help for mums with young children who are struggling – they only have the money to go to the shop and buy cheap food which is high in fat, sugar and preservatives.”
Pensioner Jimmy Fearns, 87 said: “Putting prices up won’t stop people – if a kid is crying and begging for chocolate or a sausage roll the parent will buy it to keep them quiet regardless of whether the price has gone up a few pence.
The former heavy goods driver urged the government to make physical activity for youngsters the “number one priority,” adding: “Local parks used to have football pitches on, but it all stopped when they put the rates up as nobody could afford it.
“The childhood obesity crisis here is proof that leveling up is a load of rubbish – the further north you go the worse it gets and it’s always been that way, I blame the government for all of it.”
Queen of greens fights back
A mobile greengrocer called the Queen of Greens is tackling the problem in Knowsley and other deprived neighbourhoods around Liverpool.
The council-run bus, partly funded by the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, is packed with market-price fruit and veg and stops at 40 locations each week.
We caught up with project manager turned-greengrocer Elena Vacca as she served patients and staff outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital.
The 29-year-old said: “We target schools, hospitals and other locations so people don’t have to travel – we’re bringing it to them instead.
“Knowsley and the surrounding areas have a lot of takeaways and fast food places in very close proximity but a distinct lack of fresh produce, so we specifically target those areas.
“And it’s definitely having a positive impact. One kid had never tried watermelon before and loved it, so their mum came back a week later to buy one – it was so nice to see the initiative working.
“Paul, one of our greengrocers, will also often chop up the fruit and veg for people to try, which gets kids interested.”
The bus was launched last month, just weeks after ministers were urged to consider taxing products high in fat, sugar and salt to combat obesity.