Starting Monday, Britain has kicked off new rules stopping adverts for junk food on daytime TV and online, calling it a “world-leading action” to tackle childhood obesity.
The ban targets ads for foods and drinks loaded with fat, salt, or sugar. According to the health ministry, this move could slash up to 7.2 billion calories from kids’ diets every year.
Ads for unhealthy foods will now be barred from airing before 9:00pm and won’t be allowed online at all during daytime hours. Officials say this could help 20,000 children avoid obesity and save the public around £2 billion ($2.7 billion) in health costs.
These steps follow other recent actions, like expanding the sugar tax to cover pre-packaged drinks such as milkshakes, ready-to-go coffees, and sweetened yoghurts. Local councils now also have the power to block fast food shops opening near schools.
The government says research clearly shows that advertising changes how and what children eat, deeply shaping their preferences and raising their risk for obesity and related health problems.
Right now, around 22 percent of children entering primary school in England—usually at age five—are already classed as overweight or obese. That figure jumps to more than a third by the time they reach secondary school at age 11.
Tooth decay is now the top reason young children aged five to nine end up in hospital, according to officials.
“By restricting adverts for junk food before 9pm and banning paid adverts online, we can remove excessive exposure to unhealthy foods,” health minister Ashley Dalton said in a statement.
