When Labour came to power in 2024, they made two key promises to businesses and the public: change and evidence-based policymaking. On the issue of childhood obesity policy, it is in danger of breaking both and falling into the traps that have beset previous governments.
The health department’s new consultation proposes extending the list of foods that would fall under the ‘less healthy foods’ advertising restrictions, themselves a legacy of the Boris Johnson government. It does so while ignoring the evidence, which shows that these policies do not work, and without any assessment of the impact they would have on creative and media businesses that rely on advertising revenue – from commercial and public service broadcasters to local and national journalists, online media and the digital tools we use every day.
To be clear, childhood obesity is a major problem in the UK. Decades of research, government strategies and policy interventions have failed to tackle the underlying causes. Advertising bans are one such policy. Some people believe advertising makes the public increase their consumption of unhealthy products, so restricting the advertising will lead to a decline in consumption. The logic is simple but deceptive, as both assumptions are not based in the broad evidence. There are much more significant and complex factors driving obesity.
The real power of advertising
Professor Charles Taylor, editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Advertising, recently conducted a review of the evidence across decades of research in health, obesity and advertising. His overarching findings are that advertising for products such as chocolate bars and takeaways may affect short-term desire, but does not lead to long-term changes in dietary behaviours, levels of obesity or BMI. Meta-analyses examining more than 500 highly cited studies show that obesity is caused by a range of factors, from parental obesity levels to insufficient sleep to physical activity levels. Advertising is not evidenced as a factor at all. Quite simply, it impacts which chocolate bar you want to buy, not how often you want to buy it.
This makes sense when you look at what influences purchasing and consumption decisions: access to healthy options, affordability of healthy products and knowledge of which foods should be a treat rather than a core part of a diet. This is what the evidence shows – and it is what the public tells us, too.
New polling released today by YouGov and the Advertising Association of more than 2,000 adults showed 70% of adults in the UK are not worried about the amount of ‘less healthy’ food advertisements they see or hear and two-thirds (67%) believe advertising for such products makes no difference to whether they are likely to buy that food.
When asked about the top three measures that would be most effective in helping them and their families live a healthier life, the option to make healthier food more affordable is the top choice by a long way (63%). This is followed by mandatory health and cooking education in schools (29%) and subsidised gym or fitness class memberships (27%). Banning the advertising of unhealthy food across all media scored mid-low (15%) in terms of what people think would be most effective.
When it comes to advertising, the opportunity that government should be focusing on is adverting’s power to support behaviour change and lifestyle choices. There is far more evidence of this approach having a positive impact on tackling societal problems and it avoids the damaging economic impact that comes from ineffective advertising restrictions.
Our message as we participate in this consultation process is clear. The government is in danger of sacrificing its own ambitions in the Creative Industries Sector Plan to grow the advertising and ad-funded media sectors on the altar of a policy that is not supported by any evidence or wanted by the public. I would ask civil servants and ministers to carry out an immediate impact assessment on what this would mean for the creative industries, and follow the science and other evidence to take the positive, practical steps needed to truly tackle this issue. Advertising should be part of this, through driving positive behaviour change, rather than by extending ineffective bans.
Stephen Woodford is CEO of the Advertising Association
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