In efforts to combat rising obesity in the country, particularly among youngsters, the British government is banning daytime TV adverts for sugary foods like hamburgers and muffins, branding such popular items as junk food.
From October next year, ads showing “less healthy” food and drinks will be allowed to be aired only after 9pm, the new policy says.
The National Health Service (NHS) says obesity is on the rise among British children, with one in 10 four-year-olds now considered obese. And one in five of all five-year-olds suffers from tooth decay from eating too much sugar.
According to an AFP report in IOL, 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 like croissants, pancakes, waffles and croissants.
Breakfast cereals, which include granola, muesli, porridge oats and other oat-based cereals, are also on the list of banned products, as are energy drinks, hamburgers and chicken nuggets.
The government hopes the new measures could help prevent some 20 000 cases of childhood obesity a year.
IOL article – UK bans daytime TV ads for cereals, muffins and burgers (Open access)
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