The UK is going to start limiting advertisements for junk food in an attempt to tackle childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is a problem all across the world, and it is a rising problem in the UK. A child who is obese can face several health issues now and when they are an adult, and medical experts have been looking for ways to tackle this problem and promote healthy eating to children and their families. While it seems like a difficult problem to tackle, work is constantly being done to try and eradicate this issue.
According to Medical Xpress and NDTV, the UK is going to institute a limit on junk food ads in their latest attempt to tackle obesity in children. This move was announced by the British government on June 24th, and time will tell if it is successful and if other countries will make the same move.
The NHS (National Health Service) estimates that 10% of all 4- and 5 -year-olds in the country are obese, and the percentage only climbs as the ages increase. They also acknowledge that adults in their country have a problem with obesity, and they have placed some of the blame on cheap foods that are high in calories.
They have announced that from the end of next year, television and on-demand channels will not be allowed to show commercials for food that is high in fat, sugar, and salt before 9:00 pm.
Jo Churchill, the Public Health Minister, stated that this new policy is aimed at protecting children from advertising unhealthy food. Now, the country did have some evidence that these ads were part of the problem, which led them to create this new policy.
The government used a recent analysis that showed that 60% of the commercials on the main TV channels between the hours of 6 and 9 pm. They did say that there will be exceptions to this rule and that foods like honey, that are relatively unprocessed will be allowed. They will also allow ads for small and medium food businesses. This will also only count for food promotions that are on TV, and not online.
Foods can still be promoted online and on their social media pages, despite some who were calling for those to be banned as well. Some believe this was sparked by the pandemic which showed that the virus could be seen more serious in those who were considered obese.
Sources: Medical Xpress, NDTV