Towards a regulation of food advertising?

For 20 years the UK Government has recognised that food advertising plays a part in the food choices and hence diets of the population, particularly for children. In 2007 the UK brought in regulations to stop the advertising of less healthy foods on television during child specific programming. Less healthy foods were defined using the 2004/05 Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) as products high in saturated fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). Evaluations showed that children were still seeing and being affected by the adverts for less healthy foods. To try to mitigate childhood obesity, in 2018, the UK Government announced its intention to consult on further restrictions on the advertising of HFSS products on television and online. Two years later, the intention to implement a 9pm advertising ban on television and a further consultation on restricting online advertising of HFSS products was announced. New legislative controls on the advertising of HFSS foods are expected to be brought into legislation in the UK in January 2024. In this paper, the history of advertising restrictions in the UK and the evidence informing them is reviewed. There will also be a reflection on where further actions might be needed in due course.