More needed alongside junk food ads ban to tackle obesity, says University of Worcester health lecturer
A voluntary ban on advertising products high in fat, salt and sugar on television before 9pm and online came into place on Wednesday (1 October)
A ban on junk food adverts by the government is a 'welcome one' says a University of Worcester health and occupational psychologist, but more still needs to be done to tackle obesity.
From the 1 October advertisers took up a voluntary ban on showing less healthy food or drink products, also referred to as products high in fat, salt or sugar, on television before the 9pm watershed and online.
It's ahead of a permanent one planned by the government which is set to come into force from January 2026, aimed at reducing children's exposure to unhealthy food advertising to help tackle rising rates of childhood obesity.
Felix Why is a senior lecturer at the University of Worcester and works as a health and occupational psychologist, he says the ban is a step in the right direction but he doesn't think it will solve the issue of obesity entirely.
"Obesity is an issue, it's not just an issue in the UK, it's an issue now covering almost all parts of the world," he said.
"I think the ban is to remove that source of influence in changing people's dietary behaviours, particularly children, and while I think it's good, I think there are a lot of other issues that needs to be tackled.
"The more important factors are the more difficult societal problems, so one thing could be affordability and making the price of healthy food and unhealthy food equivalently equal."
The government say 7.2 billion calories per year are expected to be removed from UK children’s diets as a result of the measures, preventing an estimated 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.
It's also made clear advertisements for plain porridge oats will not be banned under the advertising restrictions and other types of advertising, such as billboards and other outdoor advertising, will not be affected by this change, although existing regulations still apply.