Junk food TV adverts influencing teen diets

Teenagers who watch lots of TV with adverts are more likely to eat junk food, suggesting a “strong association between advertisements and eating habits”, according to a report.

Cancer Research UK warned that being bombarded by TV adverts for unhealthy, highcalorie food could lead youngsters to eat more than 500 extra snacks such as crisps, biscuits and fizzy drinks during a single year.

When they watched TV without adverts, researchers found no link between screen time and the likelihood of eating junk food, suggesting the adverts on TV may be driving youngsters to snack on more unhealthy food.

Regularly eating high-calorie food and drink – which usually have higher levels of fat and sugar – increases the risk of becoming overweight or obese.

More than one in three British teenagers are overweight or obese, with obesity the second biggest preventable cause of cancer in the UK after smoking, and linked to 13 types of cancer including bowel, breast and pancreatic.

Lead author Dr Jyotsna Vohra said: “This is the strongest evidence yet that junk food adverts could increase how much teens choose to eat.

“We’re not claiming that every teenager who watches commercial TV will gorge on junk food, but this research suggests there is a strong association between advertisements and eating habits.

“Ofcom must stop junk food adverts being shown during programmes that are popular with young people, such as talent shows and football matches, where there’s currently no regulation.

“Our report suggests that reducing junk food TV marketing could help to halt the obesity crisis.”

The Obesity Health Alliance recently called for a 9pm watershed to protect children from junk food marketing after observing that more than half of food and drinks adverts shown during family TV shows were for products high in fat, sugar and salt.

Ofcom has been urged to stop junk food ads being shown during family shows.