Majority of region’s parents favour junk food ad ban to cut child obesity

Over half of parents in Yorkshire and the Humber believe stopping kids being exposed to junk food ads could cut child obesity, a leading heart charity has revealed.

Image: British Heart Foundation.

In a recent study, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) found that 57% of parents in the Yorkshire and Humber region believe a ban can help towards tackling child obesity, which already affects 30% of children in the UK according to statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

61% of the region’s parents also felt the government should introduce stricter regulations on the food industry to better control how junk food is advertised to children.

Over half of them (54%) said they believe adverts promoting foods that are high in saturated fat, salt and sugar affect what their children want to eat whilst 58% said junk food adverts make it harder for them to say no to their children or get them to eat healthily.

“Sophisticated marketing techniques”

Mike Hobday, Director of Policy at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Junk food companies are exploiting legal loopholes in the regulatory system, allowing them to continue bombarding children with junk food adverts.

“By protecting young people against the sophisticated marketing techniques of junk food advertisers we can help tackle the obesity crisis which threatens the heart health of future generations.”

The BHF recently delivered a petition to 10 Downing Street with 30,000 signatures calling for a ban on junk food adverts before 9pm.