TV junk food ads could face pre-9pm watershed ban
A group of doctors alarmed at Britain’s soaring obesity rates have called on television regulators to introduce a pre-9pm watershed ban on junk food advertising.
It is hoped such a measure would help dent soaring obesity rates, particularly amongst children and young people, by reducing their intake of foods high in salt, sugar or fat.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is also calling for a so called ‘fat tax’ to be introduced for unhealthy foods.
Dr Hilary Cass, president of the college, said: “Although they are trying to avoid junk food advertising around specific children's programmes, you've still got it around soaps and other programmes that children watch. So the only realistic way to do it is to have no junk food advertising before the watershed in any programmes at all.
“When children see the adverts they start nagging their parents to get them a McDonald's or whatever. They see something at 6pm on the telly and want a McDonald's that night. It's a similar thing to having sweets at the checkout – get to them then.”
The Advertising Association countered that any such measures would risk ‘overlooking the real causes of obesity’, adding that the UK already enforces some of the strictest rules in Europe.