The UK government have put their long-awaited restrictions on the advertising of unhealthy foods in place today.
The ban, which sees foods high in sugar, salt and fats limited to post-9pm broadcast, comes in to effect in a bid to tackle the growing concerns around childhood obesity.
The Food and Drink Federation, which has already been following these rules since October 2025, have reinforced their commitment to healthy eating following the ban.
Professor Emma Boyland, Chair of Food Marketing and Child Health at University of Liverpool believes that this is just the start.
She said: “It’s a long time coming and there’s lots of evidence that when children in particular see unhealthy food advertising, they are more likely to choose unhealthy foods.”
While several countries such as Chile have already imposed regulations on TV and packaging, the UK becomes one the first countries globally to enforce the restrictions online.
This is largely due to the struggles of online content monitoring.
TV adverts are all pre-approved before broadcasting whereas there is no such system for online content.
Professor Boyland believes that this is just one of the limitations of the new system.
She said: “Brand advertising is not within the rules that’s exempt. So you can advertise a brand logo. You can even advertise a range of products such as different flavours.
“With the government yet to act on this, its a pretty big loophole that could see the bigger, more well-known brands continue advertising.”
With the government predicting twenty-thousand children will be kept from obesity through the new regulations, all eyes will be focussed on the long term success.
Featured Image (c) Joseph McLachlan
