UK to ban junk food ads online to tackle child obesity

It is hoped that the ban will help protect children from developing long-term unhealthy eating habits, with research showing that children are exposed to more than 15 billion adverts for products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) online every year.

Health campaigners have welcomed the proposals, which would be the toughest digital marketing restrictions in the world and go much further than previous suggestions this summer. Restricting HFSS adverts on television before 9pm was already announced in July.

Evidence shows that exposure to HFSS advertising can affect what children eat and when they eat, both in the short term by increasing the amount of food children eat immediately after being exposed to an advert, and by shaping longer-term food preferences from a young age.

The new consultation, which will run for six weeks, will gather views from the public and industry stakeholders to understand the impact and challenges of introducing a total ban on the advertising of these products online, to help people live healthier lives and tackle childhood obesity.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said, ‘I am determined to help parents, children and families in the UK make healthier choices about what they eat.

‘We know as children spend more time online, parents want to be reassured they are not being exposed to adverts promoting unhealthy foods, which can affect eating habits for life.

‘This will be a world-leading measure to tackle the obesity challenges we face now but it will also address a problem that will only become more prominent in the future.’

Public Health Minister Jo Churchill said that the proposals are part of a package of measures to help families to make healthier choices.

‘Obesity is one of the biggest health crises the country faces,’ she said. ‘Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity – and one in three children leave primary school overweight or obese, with obesity-related illnesses costing the NHS £6 billion a year.

‘The urgency of tackling obesity has been brought to the fore by evidence of the link to an increased risk from Covid-19. Living with excess weight puts people at greater risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19, with risk growing substantially as body mass index increases.’

Children’s Food Campaign co-ordinator Fran Bernhardt welcomed what would be a ‘world leading policy to improve children’s health’.

‘Online adverts have cast unhealthy food in the starring role for far too long but the evidence is clear – these adverts encourage children to eat more unhealthy products at the expense of healthy food,’ she said.

‘The current regulations are inadequate to protect children. Companies have evaded the rules, exposing the loopholes time and time again. Despite policies intended to protect children from seeing high fat, salt and sugar advertising online, research last year found children were served almost 1000 junk food adverts in a two-week period.

‘A total end to online high fat, salt and sugar advertising marks a clear and resolute line; it says to industry that if they want to advertise food and drinks, their products need to be healthy. Meanwhile companies advertising healthier food and drinks have nothing to fear.’

Breaches of the new rules would be enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority, which has the power to ban ads that break the UK code. The Government said that if industry regulation failed, or advertisers flouted the new rules, stronger statutory penalties would be introduced, such as ‘civil sanctions, including the ability to issue fines’.