There are 278 fast food outlets in the borough of Barnet, according to new figures from Public Health England.

Data published on Thursday revealed the figure on a borough-by-borough map of London charting the capitals 8,662 total fast food establishments.

Barnet’s numbers mean there is one fast food restaurant to every 1,192 people in the borough.

With 75 per cent of UK residents eating out at least once a week, Barnet Council has launched an initiative pushing for retailers to consider healthier options when producing and selling food.

In September, seven Barnet businesses were awarded Healthier Catering Commitment certificates at a presentation at North London Business Park in praise of their commitment to the initiative.

In response to the new figures, Cllr Helena Hart, chair of the health and wellbeing board said: “We all know the importance of a healthy diet, which is we must recognise and promote changes being made by catering businesses in the borough to improve the health of our community.

“We want to highlight the fact that healthy options do not have to mean bland, uninteresting food.

“We are continuing to encourage eligible food businesses in the borough to join the scheme and are offering free nutrition training and advice on providing healthier food options to these businesses.”

The council has also unveiled nine specialised walking routes in the borough, eight outdoor gyms and several instructor-led health walks to promote a healthier lifestyle for Barnet residents.

More than a third of children in London are obese by the time they leave primary school, indicating an “obesity epidemic”, according to Public Health England.

PHE’s director for London Dr Yvonne Doyle said: “It is particularly worrying that so many of London’s children are affected.

“We are working across London to support families to eat more healthily and be more physically active through campaigns such as Change4Life.

“Our ambition is to become one of the leading cities in the world in terms of reducing childhood obesity and making a real difference to the lives of our children.

“All London councils have plans to tackle childhood obesity and are putting these into action. But we need to do more and faster.

“Our environment makes it harder for families to make healthy choices.

“We want all Londoners to tell us what changes they think will help children and families lead healthier lives.

“It is vitally important that we are all working together, not only for London today, but for tomorrow’s London.”

Public Health England has called on local authorities around the country to use the data in order to “target” problem areas where people are at risk of obesity to implement their own plans.