People who live or work near takeaways, or who pass a lot of these outlets on their way to work, are more likely to eat these types of foods and are more likely to be obese, a new study suggests.

In recent years, the number of takeaway outlets has risen and some believe this could be contributing to the growing number of people who are becoming overweight or obese. However, proving this has been difficult, so UK researchers decided to investigate further.

They set out to assess if there was any link between exposure to takeaway outlets and the consumption of these foods, as well as weight problems.

They analysed data on almost 5,500 people aged between 29 and 62, all of whom worked outside of the home.

The researchers took into account the amount of takeaway outlets located in the areas where the participants lived and worked. The number of outlets along the commuting route the participants took was also taken into account.

They also took into account factors that could influence the results, such as diet, physical activity levels, car ownership and income.

The participant's daily intake of burgers, fried food such as chicken, chips and pizza was estimated in grams.

The study found that people were exposed to 48% more takeaways in the area that they worked in, compared to the area that they lived in. On an average day, a person was exposed to 32 takeaway outlets between their home and work.

When the three areas were combined - home, work and the commute - people exposed to the highest number of takeaway outlets tended to consume the highest amount of these foods.

In fact, those who were most exposed to these outlets consumed an average of almost 6g more takeaway foods than those who were least exposed.

Meanwhile, those most exposed to these outlets had a higher body mass index (BMI) than those least exposed.

Overall, those most exposed were almost twice as likely to be obese than those least exposed to the outlets.

While the researchers acknowledge that this study does not prove that exposure to takeaways causes obesity, they believe they have found an ‘environmental contribution to the consumption of takeaway foods, and especially to body mass index and the odds of being obese'.

Details of these findings are published in the British Medical Journal.