The BHF believes despite some efforts to restrict the marketing of foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), they do not go far enough. The environment we live in does not make it easy. Every day children and their parents face a barrage of messages around unhealthy food that add up to making healthy choices less likely.
With the UK already in the midst of an obesity epidemic, action needs to be taken. And taken quickly.
A new BHF report shows that advertisers are using a range of techniques and loopholes in the current regulations to continue to advertise junk foods either directly to children or in a misleading way to their parents.
The ban on advertising of HFSS foods to children is not far reaching enough and covers as few as one in 20 of the TV shows most watched by under 16s.
Parents are being giving misleading advice about the benefits of some foods. There are inconsistencies in the framework for broadcast and non-broadcast advertising – junk food advertising that would be banned from TV has little regulation on the web, for example.
The BHF believes advertisers are exploiting parents' concerns about their children's health. A small nutritional benefit can be highlighted while the negative impact that a particular item might have is ignored. A product that markets itself as a good source of calcium may also have a high fat or salt content, for example.
As a result, this new BHF report is calling for three significant changes to be made to current 'junk food' legislation.
A mandatory front of pack food labelling system to help parents better understand the nutritional values of the products they are purchasing
The current ban on the marketing of HFSS foods on TV to be extended to include all programmes before the 9pm watershed
The Government must legislate to make the regulatory framework consistent. There must be equally stringent measures across broadcast and non-broadcast marketing
The BHF believe that unless the Government takes urgent action, the state of the nation's health will only get worse. The figures are already shocking enough.
Click here to download the report in full (PDF format, 4.9MB)
Vital statistics: in figures, the state of our health
33 – percentage of UK children who are currently classed as overweight or obese
25 – percentage of children who will be classed as obese (not just overweight) in 2050
30 – or over, the Body Mass Index (BMI) that signifies obesity
60 – percentage of adult males who are likely to be obese by 2050. The majority of the rest will be overweight
One third – the amount of calories consumed by children without parental knowledge
6 billion – the amount of times UK children snack each year
71 million - the amount of times UK children snack while traveling to and from school each week
Four fifths – number of 11-14-year-olds who buy crisps, sweets and chocolate
Seven fold – the amount direct health costs from obesity will increase by 2050
45 billion – in pounds, the wider cost to society of obesity and obesity related illness in
50 – percentage of overweight children who are likely to become overweight adults
Sources: Information is extrapolated from data from the Health Survey for England 2004 (Department of Health), the Scottish Health Survey 2004 and the Northern Ireland Health and Wellbeing Survey 2006; Health Survey for England 2004, Department of Health; The Scottish Health Survey 2003, The Scottish Executive 'Young People's Health in Context' HBSC Study, WHO Policy Series, June 2004: Northern Ireland Health and Wellbeing Survey 2006: Storing Up Problems: The medical case for a slimmer nation, Royal College of Physicians, 2004; Tackling Obesities: Future Choices, Foresight
