LA council curbs fast-food growth

Fast food outlets are prevalent in South Los Angeles

The Los Angeles city council has imposed a ban on new fast-food outlets in a low-income neighbourhood with a high incidence of obesity and diabetes.

The aim of the one-year moratorium is to attract restaurants that offer healthier food choices, officials say.

About two-thirds of the restaurants in the South Los Angeles area, inhabited mainly by Latinos and African-Americans, are fast-food outlets.

Representatives of fast-food chains have criticised the move.

They say they already offer healthier food items on their menus.

"It's not where you eat, it's what you eat," Andrew Pudzer, president and chief executive of CKE Restaurants, told the Associated Press news agency.

"We were willing to work with the city on that, but they obviously weren't interested."

A recent report by the Community Health Councils found 73% of South Los Angeles restaurants were fast food, compared with 42% in affluent West Los Angeles.

About 30% of adults in South Los Angeles are obese, compared with 19% for the metropolitan area, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.