Children across the UK will be shielded from junk food advertising on television and online from today, as new government regulations aimed at tackling childhood
obesity take effect.
Under the rules, adverts for less healthy food and drink are banned on TV before the 9pm watershed and prohibited online at all times. Ministers say the move will significantly reduce children’s exposure to advertising that promotes high-fat, salt and sugar products.
The government estimates the measures will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets each year, cut the number of children living with obesity by around 20,000, and deliver health benefits worth an estimated £2 billion over time.
Health experts have long argued that advertising plays a major role in shaping children’s eating habits, influencing what they want to eat and when. Evidence shows these preferences are formed at a young age and can increase the risk of obesity and related illnesses later in life.
Official figures show that 22.1% of children in England are already living with overweight or obesity when they start primary school, rising to 35.8% by the time they leave. Tooth decay remains the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged five to nine.
Minister for Health, Ashley Dalton said: “We promised to do everything we can to give every child the best and healthiest start in life.
By restricting adverts for junk food before 9pm and banning paid adverts online, we can remove excessive exposure to unhealthy foods - making the healthy choice the easy choice for parents and children.
We’re moving the dial from having the NHS treat sickness, to preventing it so people can lead healthier lives and so it can be there for us when we need it”.
The government said it had worked with health campaigners and industry leaders to strike a balance between improving children’s health and supporting economic growth. Food and drink companies had already begun complying with the restrictions voluntarily since October, ahead of their legal introduction today.
Ministers pointed to the success of previous interventions, such as the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, which prompted widespread reformulation of products. They said the new advertising rules were already encouraging the development and promotion of healthier options.
The ban forms part of a wider package of measures to improve children’s health and reduce inequality. These include the introduction of a Healthy Food Standard to make shopping baskets healthier, new powers for councils to block fast-food outlets opening near schools, and plans to extend the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to cover more products, including sugary milk-based drinks. Sales of high-caffeine energy drinks to under-16s will also be banned.
Katharine Jenner, Executive Director, Obesity Health Alliance, said: “It’s been one battle after another, but we are finally going to see children being protected from the worst offending junk food adverts. This is a welcome and long-awaited step towards better protecting children from unhealthy food and drink advertising that can harm their health and wellbeing. These new restrictions will help reduce children’s exposure to the most problematic adverts and mark real progress towards a healthier food environment.
For the government to achieve its ambition of raising the healthiest generation ever, this is an important policy as part of a broader approach to preventing obesity-related ill health. Continuing to strengthen the rules over time will help ensure these protections remain effective”.
Colette Marshall, Chief Executive at Diabetes UK, said:
“With type 2 diabetes on the rise in young people, the need to improve children’s health in the UK has never been greater. Obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, and the condition can lead to more severe consequences in young people – leaving them at risk of serious complications like kidney failure and heart disease.
The long-awaited move to restrict junk food advertising – along with other measures such as mandatory healthy food sales reporting for businesses and the extension of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy – can help protect the health of our children, creating a future where conditions like type 2 diabetes can be prevented in young people”.
The government has also highlighted wider public health initiatives, including supervised toothbrushing schemes for young children in deprived areas, measures to reduce the cost of baby formula, and the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill aimed at stopping the next generation becoming addicted to nicotine.
Taken together, ministers say the junk food advertising ban marks a decisive shift towards prevention and a major step in the government’s 10-year health plan to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.
Farid (17), Bite Back Activist, said: “Today is a milestone moment – one that young people across the UK have been campaigning for over many years. We welcome the government taking action to put children’s health front and centre, to protect young people from the predatory and manipulative marketing of unhealthy food by junk food giants.
These new rules are an important first step that begins to rip down the wallpaper of junk food advertising that surrounds young people on TV and online every day. We’re proud to see this change finally happen. But this cannot be the end. Young people are energised to keep pushing, working hard to make 2026 the year we fully transform the environments children grow up in”.
Malcolm Clark, Senior Policy Manager at Cancer Research UK, said:
“The world around us heavily influences what we eat and drink, which is why Cancer Research UK has long campaigned for restrictions on advertising unhealthy foods to children.
Measures announced today - if properly enforced - are a crucial step towards creating an environment that protects children and empowers healthy lifestyle changes.
Obesity and overweight causes at least 13 different types of cancer, and children living with obesity are much more likely to live with obesity as adults too. The UK Government must build on this landmark legislation with further bold action to make a healthy diet more accessible and reduce people’s risk of cancer in the future”.
Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said:
“This is a positive step towards creating healthier environments for children and tackling childhood obesity.
Childhood obesity remains one of the most significant public health challenges we face, driving health inequalities and placing a significant cost burden on the NHS and wider society. These measures are an important part of a whole systems approach, alongside local action to improve access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity.
We are pleased to see that these measures complement other public health initiatives, such as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which together signal a strong commitment to prevention and improving health outcomes”.
Alice Wiseman MBE, Vice President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said:
“The vast majority of deaths in this country are caused by preventable illnesses and disease, including many cancers, respiratory, heart and liver disease. These illnesses are often linked to the consumption of harmful products like unhealthy food and drink, but this is not the result of personal choice.
The reality is that what we eat and drink is heavily influenced by cheap prices and clever marketing campaigns backed by multi-million pound budgets. We simply don’t have the freedom to choose.
There is no quick fix, but we know from our experience of tackling tobacco harm, that one of the key ways to reduce illness and death caused by harmful products is to introduce tighter restrictions on advertising those products.
There is of course further to go, but today’s legislation is a significant and welcome step forward in protecting people from industry influence and reducing the number of people living with – and dying from – preventable illness and disease”. Photo by Department of Health and Social Care, Wikimedia commons.