The Government is set to announce that Children will no longer be exposed to TV adverts for junk food products
Ads on television will only be allowed past the 9pm watershed from October 2025 as part of plans to curb childhood obesity.
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 Care, Wes Streeting, 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.
