One third of children are obese! Junk Food Advertising Banned by 9 p.m.

Britain has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Europe. The government launched public discussions on the 18th to hear opinions on the introduction of regulations prohibiting TV and Internet platforms from broadcasting junk food advertisements before 9 p.m. According to the Daily Mail of Britain on the 17th, the British government cabinet minister revealed that the government will announce new regulations this week to ban advertising of junk food before 9 p.m.

At present, Britain has the strictest regulations on children's advertising, which prohibits junk food advertisements with high oil, sugar and salt on TV programs targeting youngsters under 16 years of age. In addition, online blockbusters on social media such as YouTube are not allowed to promote games made by junk food manufacturers. In addition to the above, other options for banning junk food advertising include raising the threshold for food advertising or limiting the duration of such advertising. At present, if more than a quarter of the viewers of a program are children, unhealthy foods will be banned from advertising on the program.  The Daily Telegraph of Britain said that food advertisements involving high fat, sugar and salt were banned on children's programs, but the problem is that most children watch TV from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., that is, family TV programs. It is estimated that every year, children may see more than 4 billion advertisements on TV and the Internet, including 700 million junk food advertisements on the Internet and 3.6 billion on TV.

The Independent reported on the 17th that one in three children in the UK is overweight, according to statistics from the UK National Health Service. In addition, the UK will add 1,000 children a year with weight complications, including diabetes, heart disease and mental health problems.

Some British cabinet ministers have promised to crack down on junk food advertisements on social media. "Child obesity is one of the biggest health problems facing the UK," said Jeremy White, the UK's Minister for digital, cultural, media and sports. "It is particularly important to find ways to help the country improve its health, whether through physical exercise or through media or advertising to promote a healthy life." However, the proposal to ban junk food advertising has met with collective opposition from the advertising community and food companies. According to Woodford, CEO of the British Advertising Association, the impact of advertising is actually very small.

The rate of obesity among children has risen sharply in the past decade, but the rate of advertising exposure for unhealthy foods has declined sharply. At the same time, Racroft, Director of Food and Beverage Federation Affairs representing the British Food Manufacturing Industry, accused the British Minister of "failing to note that Britain has not yet emerged from the European impasse and that food companies are doing their utmost to ensure the national food supply." Food manufacturing industry is making every effort to cope with the disaster brought about by the hard disengagement from Europe, to avoid food shortages and to keep food price rises to a minimum. He said the regulation was an "insult" to food companies. The ban on junk food advertising also sparked debate among parliamentarians. Conservative MPs fear that banning junk food advertising could lead to Britain becoming an over-managed "nanny country", the British Express reported on Wednesday. But Lucas, the GreenParty MP, believes that if spam is not banned, "we will have a generation of people who live less than their parents".