Children will no longer be exposed to TV adverts for junk food
products as new law set out today (December 3) confirms the final
details of advertising restrictions. Ads on television will only
be allowed past the 9pm watershed from October 2025 as part of
plans to curb childhood obesity.
Fulfilling a key manifesto commitment for this government and
supporting the pledge to give every child the best and healthiest
start in life, the advertising restrictions will also include a
ban on paid online junk food adverts to reduce children's
excessive exposure to many foods high in fat, sugar, or salt and
helping to address rising rates of obesity-related diseases such
as diabetes and heart disease.
Guidance is also being published today to provide more detail on
which food and drink categories will be covered by the
regulations - giving industry the final details needed to prepare
for the regulations coming into force next year.
7.2 billion calories per year are expected to be removed from UK
children's diets as a result of the measures, preventing an
estimated 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.
Secretary of State for Health and Social, , said:
“Obesity robs our kids of the best possible start in life, sets
them up for a lifetime of health problems, and costs the NHS
billions.
“This government is taking action now to end the targeting of
junk food ads at kids, across both TV and online.
"This is the first step to deliver a major shift in the focus of
healthcare from sickness to prevention, and towards meeting our
government's ambition to give every child a healthy, happy start
to life.”
NHS data shows a deeply concerning trend of rising childhood
obesity. Almost one in 10 (9.2%) reception-aged children are now
living with obesity and, by aged 5, one in five (23.7%) children
have tooth decay because of excess sugar consumption.
With rates continuing to rise and without further action to
address the causes of this trend, this generation of children
could be set up for a lifetime of health complications as
adults.
By taking preventative action to tackle the causes of childhood
obesity, the government will begin fixing the foundations of good
health to protect the health of the next generation.
NHS national medical director Professor, Sir Stephen Powis,
said:
“NHS figures show that one in eight toddlers and primary school
children are obese, and this is clearly a problem not only
because we know that it could lead to young people having health
issues later in life, but it's also storing up problems for a
future NHS which already spends billions dealing with the issue.
“We've always said the NHS can play its part in supporting people
who are obese to reach a healthier weight, but we need to work
with the rest of society to prevent people becoming overweight in
the first place.
“So, we welcome this proposed legislation and look forward to
working with the government and partners to help protect the good
health of future generations.”
Children with obesity are more likely to live with the condition
as adults and are at significantly greater risk of life-limiting
illnesses that deeply impact their quality of life and economic
opportunities.
Obesity is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer, costs
the UK health service more than £11 billion each year, and is a
major contributor to ill health that prevents people from
participating fully in work.
These restrictions will support the shift from treatment to
prevention that will be a key focus of the 10 Year Health Plan,
which the government is set to publish in spring 2025.
The government recently launched change.nhs.uk, issuing a
rallying call to the entire nation - including all 1.5 million
NHS staff, as well as patients, experts and the wider public - to
visit the online platform to share their experiences, views and
ideas for fixing the NHS and to shape the plan.
The Change NHS online portal has already received over one
million visits. It will be live until spring 2025 and available
to access online and via the NHS App.
Notes for editors
It is estimated that 6.4% of UK childhood obesity and 5.0% of
childhood overweight is attributable to the advertising of less
healthy food or drink.
The 7.2 billion calories per year estimate is derived from the
multiplication of the predicted calorie reduction and the
estimated number of children positively influenced by the policy.
A full impact assessment is available online.
