Will the Junk Food Ad Ban 2025 Work, to help reduce childhood obesity?

The government have finalised a new law that will prevent children being exposed to TV adverts for unhealthy food products before the 9pm watershed. The law will come into place from October 2025 and will also include a ban on paid online unhealthy food adverts.

It should be noted however, that these restrictions will only apply to identifiable products in an advert, meaning a company can still advertise provided they don’t explicitly feature images and videos any of the products classed as unhealthy.

So just how effective will this limited new law be? With its restrictions, which basically translates to loopholes for these companies to exploit?

While it’s a good start, it’s not much more than sticking a plaster on an open wound and hoping it heals quickly!

Children need to be taught nutrition in schools for them to be able to identify why these foods are actually harmful to their health if eaten on a regular basis. An educated child would have more resilience to resist these unhealthy food advertisements, making the governments junk food ban legislation so much more effective in the long term!

The film made by NIHR, Policy Research Unit in Obesity and the National Children’s Bureau, highlights just how much advertising a child or teenager is subjected to and its everywhere not just on TV or online, it's shocking !!