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Home » Lose Weight Fast » Junk food TV adverts to be banned before 9pm, Government confirms – Metro.co.uk

The plans to tackle obesity are set to go ahead (Picture: Getty Images)

Adverts for junk food will be banned on TV until after 9pm, the Government has confirmed today.

Online advertising will also be cracked down on as part of Boris Johnsons plans to tackle obesity.

Public health minister Jo Churchill said: We are committed to improving the health of our children and tackling obesity. The content youngsters see can have an impact on the choices they make and habits they form.

With children spending more time online it is vital we act to protect them from unhealthy advertising.

These measures form another key part of our strategy to get the nation fitter and healthier by giving them the chance to make more informed decisions when it comes to food.

We need to take urgent action to level up health inequalities. This action on advertising will help to wipe billions off the national calorie count and give our children a fair chance of a healthy lifestyle.

The restrictions however will stop short of the total ban which was proposed last year.

Fast food and confectionery giants will be banned from advertising products high in fat, sugar and salt online, but there will be an exception for small businesses which hire 249 employees or fewer.

The new plans will be brought in from April 2022, with promotions on high fat, salt and sugarfoodand drinksalso set be restricted in retailers.

Calorie counts will be included on restaurant menus but only on food and not drinks.

And a new incentive scheme called Fit Miles will look at paying people to eat better and exercise more, while there will be more support for GPs to help people lose weight.

The new plans were announced as part of the Queens Speech when she reopened Parliament last month.

The NHS says more than 60% of the adult population is now overweight or obese, with the average weight rising gradually since the 1990s.

Obesity is considered a risk factor in people falling very ill with coronavirus, as well as other health issues including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and several types of cancer.

Since the prime minister fell very ill with Covid-19 last year, it appears he has made tackling obesity across the UK a priority.

Losing weight, frankly, is one of the ways you can reduce your own risk from coronavirus, Mr Johnson said.

Health secretary Matt Hancock previously backed the plans, adding: I am determined to help parents, children and families in the UK make healthier choices about what they eat.

We know as children spend more time online, parents want to be reassured they are not being exposed to adverts promoting unhealthy foods, which can affect eating habits for life.

This will be a world-leading measure to tackle the obesity challenges we face now but it will also address a problem that will only become more prominent in the future.

The initial consultation on the plans said children under 16 in the UK were exposed to 15 billion adverts for products high in fat, sugar and salt in 2019, compared to 700 million two years earlier.

One in three children leave primary school overweight or obese, and almost two-thirds of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity.

It is feared various lockdowns and stay at home rules over the past year have greatly increased childrens exposure to fast food adverts.

The Advertising Association said it was dismayed by the ban and called the plans headline-chasing policies.

Sue Eustace, public affairs director for the organisation, said: We are dismayed the Government is moving ahead with its ad ban on TV before the 9pm watershed and increased restrictions online.

This means many food and drink companies wont be able to advertise new product innovations and reformulations and larger food-on-the-go, pub and restaurant chains may not be able to tell their customers about their menus. Content providers online publishers and broadcasters will lose vital advertising revenue to fund jobs in editorial and programme-making.

We all want to see a healthier, more active population, but the Governments own analysis shows these measures wont work. Levelling up society will not be achieved by punishing some of the UKs most successful industries for minimal effect on obesity levels.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.

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Junk food TV adverts to be banned before 9pm, Government confirms - Metro.co.uk

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Home » Lose Weight Fast » Junk food TV adverts to be banned before 9pm, Government confirms – Metro.co.uk