The Government of Great Britain will prohibit the broadcast on television of advertisements for foods with high levels of sugar, fat or salt before 9:00 p.m., in an attempt to promote healthy habits among children and fight obesity.
The prime minister, Boris Johnson, has framed this initiative within the “national fight against obesity” and has stressed the need to take measures, also appealing to the “great” costs that being overweight entails for public health – 6,000 million pounds (almost 7,000 million euros) a year.
In this sense, the Secretary of State for Public Health, Jo Churchill, has warned that the audiovisual content that children consume “can have an impact on the decisions they make and the habits they adopt,” so she sees it necessary to toughen regulation both on linear television and on demand.
Authorities estimate that these restrictions could eliminate up to 7.2 billion calories from the diet and reduce the number of obese children by more than 20,000. Currently, one in three children who complete primary school is overweight in Great Britain.
The Johnson administration last year considered a total ban on ads for unhealthy food, but has finally chosen a middle ground after opening a public consultation in which almost eight out of ten people were in favor of establishing a kind of children’s schedule.
When the reform comes into force, at the end of 2022, between 5.30 am and 9.00 pm it will not be possible to broadcast advertisements for chocolate, soft drinks, ice cream, cookies, sugary juices, breakfast cereals, chips or pizzas, among other products. The rule will not affect natural products such as olive oil, honey or avocado, nor will it affect companies with fewer than 250 employees.
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