Ebbw Vale Bans Junk Food Ads, Tackles Obesity Crisis

0:00On March 30, in Ebovale, South Wales, nearly 80% of adults are overweight or obese, earning it a spot as one of Britain's heaviest towns. Local counselors just passed the motion to fight back by banning ads for junk food and sugary drinks on all council properties within the next year. That includes billboards, bus shelters, leisure centers, and digital screens everywhere from car parks to publications. The town is flooded with takeaways, 73% of its restaurants serve fast food, while there's just one green grocer made kebab shops and pizza spots. Counselors like Sonia Beresay, those flashy signs pull people in for chips or whatever, three times a day for some locals. Obesity here links to big health woes, including tied-to diabetes, heart disease, and cancers, dragging down life expectancy, the lowest for women in, the UK and men in Wales. Leaders Steve Thomas called it a critical issue, but once the policy tweaked for real impact.

1:02Beres also pushing to check if they can limit the size and brightness of private takeaway boards legally. This move highlights deeper struggles in Blaineow Gwent, from job losses to mental health claims spiking nearby in Rimni as they hustle to turn the tide on preventable illness.