Fast food chains are booming. Last year, the aldermen of the four major cities already asked for funds to do something about this. State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (Prevention, ChristenUnie) is now responding to this. He is going to look at the legal possibilities to stop the proliferation of new branches of fast food restaurants. He will also look at the options for tackling soft drink advertising and sales in and around schools.
“Something really needs to be done, one in seven children is now overweight and things are going in the wrong direction. In lower social classes it is even one in three,” Van Ooijen told the AD. An earlier plan for a sugar tax to control eating behavior is not enough, Van Ooijen fears. “You really don’t want that excess of supply. Eating a hamburger or a döner sandwich is no problem. But I don’t want those huge numbers, nor do I want to school at or too close.”