The UK has introduced advertising restrictions to shield children from junk food adverts and improve long-term health outcomes
The UK Government has announced a landmark ban on junk food advertising aimed at children, marking a strong public health intervention. Ads for foods high in fat, sugar, and salt will be restricted on TV and online platforms to tackle childhood obesity and improve health outcomes. Ministers say this could help families make healthier choices.
Ban on junk food and drink adverts targeted at children
From January 5, 2026, advertisements for junk food and drinks will be banned on television before 9 pm and online at all times. This world-leading decision is expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets each year, reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000, and deliver around £2 billion in health benefits over time.
Research shows that advertising influences what and when children eat, shaping preferences from a young age and increasing the risk of obesity and related illnesses. The ban targets the media that children and young people access at the times they use it most.
At the start of primary school, 22.1% of children in England are living with overweight and obesity, rising to 35.8% by the time they leave. Tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions among young people aged 5 to 9 in the UK.
Minister for Health, Ashley Dalton, said: “We promised to do everything we can to give every child the best and healthiest start in life.
By restricting junk food adverts before 9pm and banning paid online ads, we can reduce excessive exposure to unhealthy foods – making the healthy choice the easy choice for parents and children.
We’re moving the dial from having the NHS treat sickness, to preventing it so people can lead healthier lives and so it can be there for us when we need it.”
Introducing healthy interventions to give children the best start in life
Previous interventions to tackle this growing health concern included the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, which led businesses to reformulate their products to make them healthier. The levy will also be extended to include sugary milk-based drinks.
The government has introduced the Healthy Food Standard to make the average shopping basket of goods healthier, and will also allow local authorities to prevent fast food shops from opening outside schools.
Katharine Jenner, Executive Director, Obesity Health Alliance, said: “It’s been one battle after another, but we are finally going to see children being protected from the worst offending junk food adverts. This is a welcome and long-awaited step towards better protecting children from unhealthy food and drink advertising that can harm their health and wellbeing. These new restrictions will help reduce children’s exposure to the most problematic adverts and mark real progress towards a healthier food environment.
For the government to achieve its ambition of raising the healthiest generation ever, this policy is important as part of a broader approach to preventing obesity-related ill health. Continuing to strengthen the rules over time will help ensure these protections remain effective.”
Colette Marshall, Chief Executive at Diabetes UK, said: “With type 2 diabetes on the rise in young people, the need to improve children’s health in the UK has never been greater. Obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, and the condition can lead to more severe consequences in young people – leaving them at risk of serious complications like kidney failure and heart disease.
The long-awaited move to restrict junk food advertising – along with other measures such as mandatory healthy food sales reporting for businesses and the extension of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy – can help protect the health of our children, creating a future where conditions like type 2 diabetes can be prevented in young people.”
Alice Wiseman MBE, Vice President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said: “The vast majority of deaths in this country are caused by preventable illnesses and disease, including many cancers, respiratory, heart and liver disease. These illnesses are often linked to the consumption of harmful products like unhealthy food and drink, but this is not the result of personal choice.
The reality is that what we eat and drink is heavily influenced by cheap prices and clever marketing campaigns backed by multi-million-pound budgets. We simply don’t have the freedom to choose.
There is no quick fix, but we know from our experience of tackling tobacco harm that one of the key ways to reduce illness and death caused by harmful products is to introduce tighter restrictions on advertising those products.
There is more to do, but today’s legislation is a significant step in protecting people from industry influence and reducing preventable illness and death.”
