‘Junk food’ crackdown: Why UK is banning ads of pizzas, porridge, cakes

Porridge including instant oats, muesli and pizza advertisements will be banned in the United Kingdom as part of the Labour government’s crackdown on junk foods. The ban, which will come into effect from next October, is aimed at reducing obesity rates in children.

The inclusion of popular breakfast staples such as porridge and muesli in the banned list has courted criticism.

Let’s take a closer look.

UK’s crackdown on ‘junk food’ ads

To tackle childhood obesity, the UK government has decided to ban adverts for several ‘junk food’ items.

These ads will not be allowed to air on TV before 9 pm.

The policy aims to reduce children’s exposure to foods high in salt, sugar and fat. This means companies will not be able to advertise products such as chocolate, cakes, crisps, crumpets, ready-to-eat food and other unhealthy items.

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Baked foods such as scones, croissants, pains au chocolat, pancakes and waffles will also be covered by the ban.

The banned items include soft drinks with added sugar, savoury snacks, ice creams, desserts, puddings, salted popcorn and frozen yoghurts.

The restrictions also extend to pizzas, fromage frais, sweetened bread products, “sweet biscuits and bars based on one or more of nuts, seeds or cereal”, and sandwiches.

Notably, sugary breakfast cereals such as granola, muesli and “porridge oats, including instant porridge and other hot oat-based cereals” are also part of the banned ‘junk food’ ads list.

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The ban will cover porridge only if it is high in sugar.

As per The Telegraph, these restrictions come despite oats being shown to lower cholesterol levels and cut the risk of heart disease.

The ban will apply to even paid-for online ads for these listed products.

What has UK govt said?

The UK government has decided to go ahead with the ban even though the impact assessment suggests that the measures could reduce an average of just 2.1 calories from children’s diets each day.

UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, said in a statement, “ Obesity robs our kids of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, and costs the NHS[National Health Service] billions. This government is taking action now to end the targeting of junk food ads at kids, across both TV and online.”

“This is the first step to deliver a major shift in the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention, and towards meeting our government’s ambition to give every child a healthy, happy start to life,” the statement added.

Reactions to the ban

Several opposition leaders have mocked the Labour government for including porridge in the banned list, with Scottish Conservative Party MP John Lamont terming it “bonkers”.

Bonkers.
Porridge was never junk food. https://t.co/k3HYUfFu8P

— John Lamont MP 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@John2Win) December 3, 2024

Reform MP Richard Tice, as per The Sun, said: “This is an outrageous assault on the most delicious Scottish oats and it has become a porridge tax.”

Professor Gunter Kuhnle, an expert in nutrition and food science at England’s University of Reading, said the measures are “unhelpful”. “Some of these foods are probably very healthy — for instance porridge, or some non-sugar cereals,” he was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.

Chris Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs, told The Telegraph, “The ban on food advertising has no global precedent so Britain is in uncharted territory, but I predict that it will not lead to a reduction in obesity.

“Every other anti-obesity policy has failed, including the sugar tax and mandatory calorie labelling, and I see no reason why this will be any different.”

UK’s obesity rates

As per the NHS data, childhood obesity has been on the rise in the UK.

One in 10, or 9.2 per cent, reception-aged children are obese. By the age of five, one in five, or 23.7 per cent, children have tooth decay due to excess sugar consumption.

The UK government warns, “With rates continuing to rise and without further action to address the causes of this trend, this generation of children could be set up for a lifetime of health complications as adults.”

“By taking preventative action to tackle the causes of childhood obesity, the government will begin fixing the foundations of good health to protect the health of the next generation,” it said in a statement.

The UK government says its measures will cut 7.2 billion calories per year from children’s diets, in turn preventing an estimated 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.

With inputs from agencies