One TV show can lead to children over-eating, says study

CHILDREN watching just one episode of Britain’s Got Talent saw more than four and a half minutes of ads for unhealthy food and drinks, a study has found.

The Obesity Health Alliance analysed ads before 9pm during six live episodes of Britain’s Got Talent over one week in May and June, finding that more than one in five (23%) were for food or drink high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) including pizza, burgers, and cake.

This rose to almost 30% in the episode shown on May 30.

According to the OHA, a child who watched all six episodes shown during the week up to 9pm would have seen more than 22 minutes of unhealthy food and drink adverts, which the charity calculated could lead to them eating an extra 300 calories. Recent research had found that seeing 4.4 minutes of food advertising was associated with children eating 60 more calories a day, while eating as little as 46 extra calories each day could lead to excess weight.

Just 2% of all the ads were for fruit or vegetables. The OHA noted that the ads did not include a single ad for the Veg Power initiative, despite ITV’s sponsorship of the flagship programme.

Britain’s Got Talent is regularly watched by hundreds of thousands of children, viewer figures show, but is not classed as “of particular appeal” to children under current rules, meaning restrictions on junk food advertising do not apply.

Caroline Cerny, from the OHA, said: “This analysis clearly demonstrates how the food industry makes sure their high-calorie food products are kept centre stage in children’s minds. This type of advertising is clearly linked with children going on to eat more calories than they need.

“A 9pm watershed on unhealthy food adverts would ensure children can enjoy programmes without being flooded by adverts for burgers.”