PizzaHut may have banned smoking in their restaurants but the personal and financial health of millions of people is still being seriously threatened by Britons’ appetite for fast food and takeaway, research shows today.

Figures from Birmingham Midshires, the direct savings provider, reveal that the majority of Britons (59%) admit to spending money on fast food each month. And, the average amount spent each month by lovers of fast food now stands at £27.53.

The findings suggest that 34.2 million Britons spend approximately £11.2 billion a year on fast food alone – a statistic that is harming both the nation’s health and wallets.

In comparison, less than one in two Britons (48%) claim to save each month. And, of those that do save, 23% claim to save less than £50 a month – which suggests that the vast majority of Britons think they can’t afford to save.

The Birmingham Midshires findings also follow new research by Mintel, which shows about half the adult population eat out at least once a week and a third of people regularly order a takeaway. Apparently, as many as 314 million takeaways a year are consumed by Britons and the nation spends more than £24 billion a year on eating out. A figure that is equivalent to the current annual savings gap in Britain.

The Birmingham Midshires study, part of its ‘saving Britain campaign’, aims to highlight key financial issues for consumers and help people save more for their future. The study asked a GB sample of 2,000 consumers how much money they spent on certain items each month. Other findings show:

Fast Food Lovers

It is younger generations – people in their twenties and thirties who are the worst offenders with 84% and 77% respectively, regularly spending money on fast food. The average spend for those that buy fast food stands at £27.71 and £25.28 respectively.

Fast food is more popular in London, where 74% admit to spending each month on fast food. In comparison, just 41% admit to spending regularly on fast food in the North of England.

Health and Fitness

In comparison to spending on fast food, less than one in three Britons (28%) regularly spend money on their own health and fitness. Of those people who are fitness conscious, the average amount spent is £28.60. At a time when 39% of Britons are overweight and 19% of people medically obese, the findings show it is not just the nation’s financial health that is at risk.

Men appear marginally more motivated to keep in shape than women with 32% of men spending money on their physical well being (an average of £29.10) compared to 24% of women (an average of £27.95).

Tim Hague, head of savings and investments marketing at Birmingham Midshires said:

“The £24bn Britons spend each year on eating out or on takeaways is not far off the £27bn savings gap Britons run up each year. This shows how bad the savings crisis has become. Spending on take away and eating out is just one example of how spending money on certain ‘luxuries’ does little to help us save for a rainy day.”

“The figures show that saving each month on average is £130 pounds, but this is misleading because they also show that this figure is inflated by a small minority who save large sums. The majority of Britons are not saving and this is why spending on fast food and eating out is brilliant news for the food industry, but terrible news for people’s savings.”