From today, adverts for foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt will be banned on television before 9pm and completely removed from online platforms. The move targets the spaces where children spend most of their time, watching TV, scrolling on their phones and gaming online.
The government says the changes could remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets every year, helping to prevent obesity in around 20,000 children and delivering an estimated 2 billion pounds in long term health benefits.
Advertising plays a powerful role in shaping what children eat. Research shows that seeing adverts for unhealthy food influences what kids want, when they snack and how often they choose sugary or salty options. Over time, those habits can lead to serious health problems.
The scale of the issue is stark. In England, more than one in five children already live with overweight or obesity when they start primary school. By the time they leave, that figure rises to more than one in three. Tooth decay, largely driven by sugary diets, remains the leading cause of hospital admissions among young children.
Health Minister Ashley Dalton said the new rules mark a turning point in how the country tackles children’s health.
We promised to give every child the healthiest possible start in life. By cutting children’s exposure to junk food adverts, we are making the healthy choice the easy choice for parents and for kids. This is about preventing illness, not just treating it.
The government worked with health groups and food companies ahead of the ban, with many brands already reformulating products and promoting healthier options, echoing the success of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy which led to lower sugar levels in many popular drinks.
Campaigners and medical charities have welcomed the change as a major step forward.
Katharine Jenner from the Obesity Health Alliance said this is a vital step toward a healthier food environment after years of campaigning to protect children from harmful advertising.
Diabetes UK also praised the move, warning that rising childhood obesity is driving more cases of type 2 diabetes in young people, a condition that can lead to heart disease, kidney failure and lifelong health problems.
Cancer Research UK added that overweight and obesity are linked to at least 13 types of cancer and that reducing exposure to unhealthy food marketing could save lives in the long run.
The advertising ban is just one part of a wider strategy to improve children’s health and reduce inequality. Other measures include expanding the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to cover more sugary drinks, banning high caffeine energy drinks for under 16s, giving councils more power to block fast food outlets near schools, introducing supervised tooth brushing for young children in deprived areas, cutting the cost of baby formula for families and passing new laws to restrict vaping and tobacco marketing.
Together, these policies aim to shift the NHS from reacting to illness to preventing it in the first place.
For campaigners like Farid, a 17 year old activist with Bite Back, the new rules are long overdue.
This is a milestone. Young people are surrounded by junk food advertising every day on TV and online. These rules start to remove that constant pressure of unhealthy marketing and move us closer to a healthier future.
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