Television advertisements will only be allowed past the 9pm watershed from October 2025 as part of plans to curb childhood obesity.
The advertising restrictions will also include a ban on paid online junk food adverts to reduce children’s excessive exposure to foods high in fat, sugar and salt. The restrictions aim to address rising rates of obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said, “NHS figures show that one in eight toddlers and primary school children are obese, and this is clearly a problem not only because we know that it could lead to young people having health issues later in life, but it’s also storing up problems for a future NHS which already spends billions dealing with the issue.
“We’ve always said the NHS can play its part in supporting people who are obese to reach a healthier weight, but we need to work with the rest of society to prevent people becoming overweight in the first place.
“So, we welcome this proposed legislation and look forward to working with the government and partners to help protect the good health of future generations.”
NHS data has shown a rising trend in childhood obesity. Almost one in 10 (9.2 per cent) reception-aged children are now living with obesity. By age five, one in five (23.7 per cent) children have tooth decay because of excess sugar consumption.
The measures are expected to remove 7.2bn calories per year from UK children’s diets, preventing an estimated 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.
Wes Streeting, secretary of state for health and social care, said, “Obesity robs our kids of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, and costs the NHS billions.
“This government is taking action now to end the targeting of junk food ads at kids, across both TV and online.
“This is the first step to deliver a major shift in the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention, and towards meeting our government’s ambition to give every child a healthy, happy start to life.”