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Britain stops junk food advertising: a milestone for children!
Britain will sharply discount unhealthy food advertising on TV and online from October 1, 2025, in a bid to combat child obesity.
Britain stops junk food advertising: a milestone for children!
From October 1, 2025, the UK is tightening the reins on unhealthy food advertising. The new law stipulates that such advertising may only be broadcast on television after 9 p.m. and is completely prohibited on the Internet. With this, the British Labor government aims to decisively tackle childhood obesity and forestalls a strict ban that will come into force next year. Provides more detailed information about this dayticket.io.
The new advertising ban affects a large number of products that are very popular but pose a health risk. These include sugary dairy products such as fruit yoghurts, breakfast cereals with added sugar, sweet pastries and ready meals such as hamburgers and chicken nuggets. According to the British government, these products are assessed based on their nutritional values and their saturated fat, salt and sugar content. This measure is expected to result in 7.2 billion calories being cut from British children's diets every year, as tagesschau.de reported.
Obesity background
The problem is not new: obesity among children is increasing alarmingly in the UK. One in ten children by the age of four is already obese, and almost one in five children by the age of five suffers from tooth decay, often due to excessive sugar consumption. The NHS (National Health Service) reports around 20,000 cases of obesity every year, which could be prevented if appropriate measures are taken. Studies have shown a clear connection between food advertising and calorie intake, which underlines the urgency of this regulation.
With this initiative, the UK government has taken a bold step to promote the health of young people. Authorities say it is also expected to save billions of pounds in long-term treatment costs for the NHS. The consumer organization Foodwatch is promoting similar measures in Germany and has called on the local government to follow the British example. It remains to be seen whether German decision-makers will comply with the proposals, especially since the then Federal Food Minister Cem Özdemir from the Greens tried to introduce such an advertising ban in 2023, but failed due to resistance from the FDP.
The interest of the public
Public opinion speaks for itself: almost 90 percent of people in Germany want strict advertising barriers to protect children. This suggests that there is increasing pressure on political decision-makers not to lose sight of the health of the youngest. With obesity rates alarming, it's time to take action.
Against this background, it can be said that Great Britain is taking a bold and necessary step with its advertising ban. The hope remains that the success of this model could also inspire other countries to sustainably improve children's health. Further information about the affected products and the new law can be found at spiegel.de.