A new consultation has been launched on proposals to
ban online adverts for foods high in fat, sugar and salt in the UK
to tackle the obesity crisis and get the nation fit and
healthy.
- Proposal to ban online adverts promoting food high in fat,
sugar and salt.
- Ban would help protect children from developing long-term
unhealthy eating habits.
- Part of government’s landmark obesity strategy to help
everyone live healthier lives.
A new consultation has been
launched on proposals to ban online adverts for foods high in
fat, sugar and salt in the UK to tackle the obesity crisis and
get the nation fit and healthy.
Research shows children are exposed to over 15 billion adverts
for products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) online every year.
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 6 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 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 said:
It’s vital we build on the world-leading obesity measures
announced in July to ensure our efforts to tackle childhood
obesity have the greatest impact.
We have already committed to restricting HFSS adverts on television
before 9pm. But we also need to go further and address how
children can be influenced online, where they are spending more
and more of their time.
This is part of a package of measures to help families. We want
to support people of all ages to make healthier choices.
Further advertising restrictions are widely supported by the
public, with polling from 2019 showing that 72% of public support
a 9pm watershed on junk food adverts during popular family TV
shows and that 70% support a 9pm watershed online.
Today’s announcement is part of a raft of measures in the
government’s strategy to tackle obesity and get the nation fit
and healthy.
Obesity is one of the biggest health crises the country faces.
Almost two-thirds (63%) of adults in England are overweight or
living with obesity – and 1 in 3 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 (BMI)
increases. Nearly 8% of critically ill patients with COVID-19 in
intensive care units have been morbidly obese, compared with 2.9%
of the general population.
The consultation was announced as a measure as part of the
government’s tackling obesity
strategy announced in July.
A total ban on online HFSS adverts would:
- future-proof how we tackle childhood obesity – children’s
media habits are changing, and they are spending more time
online. 5 to 15 year-olds now spend 20 minutes more online each
day than watching TV and there has been a 450% increase in spend
on online food and drink advertising from 2010 to 2017
- help to tackle a lack of transparency – there is no
independent public data to reliably monitor the extent to which
children are exposed to HFSSadverts online, and the
lack of transparency from online platforms means there is limited
material with which to reassure government that our children are
adequately protected online from HFSS advertising
OFCOM Children’s Media Use
and Attitudes Report 2019
OFCOM Children and
parents: media use and attitudes report 2018
WHO evidence showing the
impact of advertising food high in fat, sugar and salt on
children
