Pressure has been mounting on the government to address soaring levels of obesity in the UK.
Junk food ads will be banned before 9pm in the UK from 2022, it was announced this week. The news was welcomed by obesity campaigners and many parents.
Under the rules, TV commercials for unhealthy foodstuffs - including chocolate, burgers, soft drinks, cakes, sweets, ice cream, biscuits, sweetened juices, crisps, chips and pizzas - will be outlawed between 05.30 and 21.00. The TV restrictions come after Boris Johnson made tackling obesity, which affects more than a quarter of UK adults, a priority for the government.
The rules will not affect companies with fewer than 250 employees, and the Department of Health said the restrictions would not affect some foods naturally high in sugar, salt or fat - such as honey, olive oil, avocados and Marmite - as these were not seen as contributing significantly to childhood obesity.
Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: “These plans are a bold and very positive step forward in protecting children from being inundated with junk food advertising.”
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