Doctors Could Seek Total Ban On Junk Food Ads

Doctors are calling for a total ban on junk food advertising following a new report which found that food labelling schemes are not as effective as planned.

According to the Health of the Nation report from Norwich Union Healthcare, 21% of the public think that food manufacturers and advertisers are responsible for the UK’s growing obesity problem.

The report also found that 42% of consumers find traffic light labelling and Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) confusing and difficult to understand.

In addition, the report revealed that 41% of consumers said that food labelling had not deterred them from eating junk food.

In April, the Committee for Advertising Practice brought in new rules stating that the advertisement of food and soft drinks should not encourage excessive consumption and should not use promotional offers in an ‘irresponsible’ way (see New Food And Drink Ad Restrictions To Extend To Non-Broadcast).

Prior to this, in February, Ofcom banned TV ads for foods high in fat, salt and sugar (see Ofcom To Phase In HFSS Restrictions).

The Food Standard Agency’s traffic light labelling system uses the colours green, red and yellow to show how healthy an individual product is (see Food Standards Agency Launches Ad Campaign).

GDAs are guidelines for healthy adults and children about the approximate amount of calories, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, total sugars, protein, fibre, salt and sodium required for a healthy diet.

Yesterday, ISBA published a new set of guidelines for its members’ websites concerning online food and drink ads (see ISBA Sets Out Guidelines For Online Junk Ads).