Hartlepool Fights Back After ‘Most Obese Town’ Claim in National Newspaper..
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Hartlepool Campaigners Hit Back at “Insulting” Sun Article Branding Town UK’s ‘Most Obese’
9th March 2026
Campaigners and community leaders in Hartlepool have hit back at a national newspaper after it branded the town one of the “most obese town in the UK”, claiming its streets were “littered with takeaways” and residents repeatedly splurging their benefits on unhealthy food.
A Graveyard with a Pulse !
The criticism follows a recent article in The Sun which described Hartlepool in the North East of England as a “graveyard with a pulse”, suggesting poor health in the area was driven by lifestyle choices and the splurge of fast-food outlets offering cheap unhealthy meals. But local campaigners have hit back, claiming the portrayal is unfair, damaging and ignores the work of hundreds of volunteers and organisations who support healthier lifestyles across the town every single day.
“A Different Story About Hartlepool”
Responding to the article, community voices have highlighted a very different picture of life in Hartlepool. According to local campaigners, around 300 organisations across the town help residents take part in sport, movement and physical activity on a daily basis.
Supporters say the network of activities shows a town where people regularly step up to support neighbours, young people and families. Campaigners say describing Hartlepool as a “graveyard with a pulse” ignores the “pride, passion and hard work” of those working to improve health and wellbeing in the community.
Health Inequality “A National Issue”
Those responding to the article say the real issue behind health outcomes in towns like Hartlepool is long-standing regional inequality, not a lack of effort from local people.
Public health experts have repeatedly pointed to stark disparities between different parts of the UK, with some post-industrial towns seeing life expectancy gaps of up to 15–20 years between neighbourhoods.
Campaigners argue these gaps are linked to wider structural changes over decades, including the loss of major industries and well-paid jobs, reduced youth services and community infrastructure & Limited access to affordable healthy food options, with public health research finding that people’s environments play a major role in shaping health outcomes.
Local campaigners say Hartlepool should not be reduced to negative stereotypes in national headlines. Instead, they argue the focus should be on the hundreds of organisations and volunteers quietly working to rebuild healthier communities.
They say the town’s many clubs, activities and grassroots groups demonstrate that residents care deeply about improving health and opportunities for the next generation.
Campaigners said towns like Hartlepool should be seen as “communities worth investing in, not problems to be mocked.”
However, many local residents say they have yet to see meaningful change on the ground. Critics point to the controversial Channel 4 documentary Skint Britain, which previously exposed the scale of poverty and deprivation in the seaside town, arguing that many of the underlying issues highlighted at the time remain today.
While investment has been directed into regeneration schemes such as film production studios on Church Street and developments around the waterfront, some residents say the benefits have not filtered down into neighbourhoods that continue to struggle.
They argue that many communities feel increasingly left behind, with deprivation, poor health outcomes and widening inequality still affecting parts of the town — factors that continue to influence life expectancy and overall public health.
