Hampshire nutritionist says marketing's having large impact on children's food choices
It comes as new research finds children and teenagers are being "bombarded" with videos of unhealthy food online
A Hampshire nutritionist says the marketing of junk food is having a large impact on the food choices children make.
More than half of children and young people aged 11 to 21 across the UK saw unhealthy food and drink products from businesses or influencers on social media in the last month, according to Cancer Research UK.
New laws, which come into force next year, will end paid-for advertising, including online, of specific foods which are high in fat, sugar and salt.
Brooke Redpath, a Hampshire nutritionist, said: "Social media is certainly a huge part of the problem, but it's only one piece of a much bigger picture.
"Children are exposed to marketing for unhealthy foods almost everywhere on television through adverts, YouTube, even in the supermarket through packaging and placement.
"These products are deliberately designed and heavily marketed by some of the largest global companies, and that has a much greater influence on children's choices than we often realise.
"That's why this can't just be about individual families managing screen time, it's also about policy and regulation.
"We need stronger laws to protect children from relentless junk food advertising, in the same way we've done with cigarettes.
"Until we address that, parents are fighting an uphill battle against a very powerful marketing machine."
Cancer Research UK are calling for ministers to do more to protect young people from "harmful marketing that could increase their risk of obesity and cancer in the future".
The charity said it's important for the implementation of the new legislation to go ahead as planned after repeated delays.
Ms Redpath shared her advice for parents.
She said: "We need to have open conversations with children about advertising.
"These don't have to be complicated questions, even simple questions such as "why do you think this influencer is holding that fizzy drink?" can help children to begin to understand marketing tricks.
"Secondly, be your child's role model - make healthy wholefood ingredients easily accessible in the house and model eating them in front of your children.
"Get them involved in the kitchen and ask them how they feel once they've eaten a meal.
"Children learn as much from what they see as what they are told - so when parents model balanced eating, it becomes natural for the family."
The government have also given a response.
A spokesperson for The Department for Health and Social Care, said: "Obesity robs children of the best start in life and sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, which costs the NHS billions.
"The junk food advertising restrictions on TV and online are a crucial part of our Plan for Change to raise the healthiest generation of children ever.
"By reducing children's exposure to junk food advertising, we will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from UK children's diets each year and deliver around £2 billion in health benefits."