UK enforces ban on adverts promoting ‘unhealthy foods’

Starting on 5 January, new UK regulations have begun enforcing a crackdown on the advertisement of “less healthy foods” (LHF) in an effort to combat childhood obesity.

LHF foods are determined based upon new legislation laid out in the Health and Care Act 2022 – classified based upon two factors: whether a product falls into an LHF product category, alongside whether a product is considered as HFSS (high fat, sugar or salt) by the Government’s nutrient profiling model.

In accordance with the ban, TV and radio ads for LHF foods will be prohibited from showing between 5:30am and 9pm, whilst online ads will be restricted at all times.

The ban is specifically targeting products which fall into 13 categories widely considered to play a large role in childhood obesity, including soft drinks, confectioneries, pizzas and also products such as porridge and sandwiches.

For brands, this ban means that they will still be able to showcase their brand or product ranges in ads, but their ability to capitalise on appetite appeal through directly showcasing products such as burgers or milkshakes has been heavily limited.

This advertising ban comes as a result of a government plan to halve childhood obesity by 2030, and is expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year. Long-term health benefits are also expected to save roughly £2 billion.

While there are some legal exceptions to these new regulations, including B2B ads, as well as ads not aimed at a UK audience, the government is otherwise firm on these new rules.

The government anticipates that this ad ban will help prevent 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.