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The British government will implement a ban on junk food advertisements being shown on TV before 9:00 p.m., starting in the fall of 2025.
A British Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson told Fox News Digital via email that the effort is to help prevent childhood obesity.
“By acting now, we can cut pressures on the NHS (National Health Services) and give kids a healthy, happy start to life,” the spokesperson said.
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“As we promised in our manifesto, we are banning junk food advertisements targeted at children. A promise made and a promise kept,” said the spokesperson.
The United Kingdom will be enforcing a new policy banning daytime food commercials starting Oct. 1, 2025. (iStock)
“We face a childhood obesity crisis. So, Labour is committed to banning advertising junk food to children,” said the manifesto, which was posted in the run-up to the July 2024 General Election in the United Kingdom.
The ban will also include online ads.
The foods that could be banned from appearing are soft drinks, savory snacks, breakfast cereal, chocolates and sweets, ice cream, cakes and cupcakes, biscuits and bars, morning pastries, desserts and puddings, sweetened yogurt, pizza, some potato-based products and ready meals including some sandwiches and burgers, the BBC reported.
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About 36% of 10- to 11-year-olds were overweight or living with obesity while 21.3% of 4- to 5-year-olds in England were overweight or living with obesity, according to a United Kingdom Government site.
A European country will be banning junk food commercials before 9:00 p.m. each evening in an effort to curb childhood obesity. (Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Approximately one in five U.S. children and adolescents have obesity and approximately 14.7 million U.S. youths aged 2–19 years have obesity, according to the CDC.
Food advertisements on television make up 50% of all the ad time on children’s shows, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).
“These ads are almost completely dominated by unhealthy food products (34 percent for candy and snacks, 28 percent for cereal, 10 percent for fast food, 4 percent for dairy products, 1 percent for fruit juices, and 0 percent for fruits or vegetables),” the APA found.
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In New York, the state senate passed Bill S213B which expands the already illegal action of advertising “false and misleading” food products.
A British Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson told Fox News Digital via email, “By acting now, we can cut pressures on the NHS (National Health Services) and give kids a healthy, happy start to life.” (iStock, Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
The bill has the intention of narrowing in on the definition of “false and misleading” to include advertising of unhealthy food specifically marketed to young people.
“The legislature finds that unfair and deceptive marketing targeted at children can mislead and manipulate children into lifelong habits, and that such unfair and deceptive advertising should be regulated accordingly,” reads the bill.
The new policy in the United Kingdom will begin on Oct. 1, 2025.
