Advertisements for foods deemed unhealthy will not be allowed before 9pm on TV and banned outright online in the UK, as new rules aimed at reducing obesity come into effect.
The government hopes to prevent 20,000 cases of childhood obesity, which will save the UK’s taxpayer-funded National Health Service an estimated £2bn in long-term healthcare costs.
The NHS currently spends between £11bn and £13bn treating obesity every year.
Ashley Dalton, the Minister for Public Health and Prevention, said the government wants to stop “excessive exposure to unhealthy foods – making the healthy choice the easy choice for parents and children.”
Focusing on the prevention, rather than treatment of obesity, means “people can lead healthier lives and so [the NHS] can be there for us when we need it,” added Dalton.
Which foods will be banned from adverts?
A blanket ban covers all junk food staples such as pizzas, burgers, fizzy drinks, crisps, and ice cream.
Other food products will be scored based on their overall nutritional value, including whether they are high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS).
For example, most sweetened cereals will find themselves falling foul of the new rules – only cereal varieties and breakfast foods with zero added sugar will be allowed, such as plain porridge.
The ban will not affect ‘brand advertising,’ meaning companies will still be able to advertise featuring their logo or iconography, as long as the unhealthy products do not appear.
“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,” says Katharine Jenner, executive director of the Obesity Health Alliance.
“These new restrictions will help reduce children’s exposure to the most problematic adverts and mark real progress towards a healthier food environment.”
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How else is the UK government tackling obesity?
The UK already has certain curbs in place on HFSS foods to tackle obesity.
In October 2025, ‘Buy one, get one free’ deals on foods deemed unhealthy were banned.
The ‘sugar tax,’ or soft drinks levy, which was introduced in 2018 to reduce the sugar content in carbonated beverages, will apply to milk products starting 2028.
These measures, as well as the advertising ban, were proposed back in 2020 and 2021, but were postponed in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis and industry outcry.
With over 1 in 10 children in the UK now classed as obese according to data by the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP), the government is looking to ramp up its efforts once again.
“Obesity robs children of the best possible start in life, hits the poorest hardest, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems and costs the NHS billions,” said Health Secretary Wes Streeting in November.
Now that these latest advertising restrictions are in effect, all eyes will be on the next batch of data to assess whether the ban has been a sweet success – or whether such measures are still half-baked.
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Newsjustnews writers 
Carmela Calling