UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers

After the watershed: A McDonald’s burger – Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP SCOTT OLSON

The UK government is banning daytime TV adverts for sugary foods like granola and muffins in its battle against child obesity, branding such popular items as junk food.

Under measures unveiled on Tuesday, ads showing “less healthy” food and drinks will only be allowed to be aired after the 9:00 pm watershed from October next year.

According to the National Health Service, obesity is rising among British kids with one in 10 four-year-olds now considered to be obese. And one in five five-year-olds suffers from tooth decay from eating too much sugar.

Also included on the government’s list — which uses a scoring system based on each item’s sugar, fat and salt content — are pre-packaged popular sugary breakfast foods such as croissants, pancakes and waffles.

“Breakfast cereals including ready-to-eat cereals, granola, muesli, porridge oats and other oat-based cereals” are included, the government said.

Also on the banned list are products such as chickpea or lentil-based crisps, seaweed-based snacks and Bombay mix as well as energy drinks, hamburgers and chicken nuggets.

But the new restrictions will not apply to healthier options such as natural porridge oats and unsweetened yoghurt. 

The government hopes the new measures could help prevent some 20,000 cases of childhood obesity a year.

“Obesity robs our kids of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, and costs the NHS billions,” Health Secretary Wes Streeting said.

“This government is taking action now to end the targeting of junk food ads at kids, across both TV and online.”