AA comment on HFSS advertising

Ahead of the publication on Monday, March 1 of a report by Bite Back 2030 on high fat, salt & sugar advertising to be laid before MPs, the Advertising Association has issued the following comment.

Stephen Woodford, Chief Executive, Advertising Association, commented:

“Existing rules governing the advertising of food and drink high in fat salt and sugar online and on TV are already among the strictest in the world and mean that children are exposed to very little of this type of advertising. According to the Government’s very own research the total online ban will reduce a child’s calorie intake by just 2.84 calories per day while the pre-9pm TV ban will lower it by 1.7 calories a day. Both are negligible amounts – the equivalent to eating about two-thirds of a Smartie or walking for 25 seconds.

“Moreover, a recent academic study showed that over the last 30 years, UK Governments of both parties have proposed 689 policies to tackle obesity in England. Despite this, rates of obesity have not decreased, they have grown. Instead of imposing yet another ineffective and doomed-to-fail measure, the Government should look at initiatives which have been shown to work, by tackling inequalities and working among those deprived and socially excluded communities most at risk from obesity. But this takes investment and, with Government strapped for funds, it may not seem the most attractive option. Nevertheless, in the long term, it will have far more benefit and positive effect than quick, but myopic, measures that garner headlines at the expense of both sense and sound economic argument.”