Google will block junk food adverts for children to help tackle obesity

GOOGLE will start blocking junk food adverts for children in the UK, coinciding with government efforts to help Britons lose weight.

The technology giant is today unveiling a policy which will require advertisers to identify which of their products are high in fat, salt or sugar, including cakes, chocolate, energy drinks and hot dogs.

Adverts for these products will then be labelled and will automatically not be shown to anyone under 18 on Youtube or Google.

This will be determined by the age they give when signed into Google accounts. Anyone on Youtube who is not signed in will not be shown the adverts.

Companies will have to adhere to the nutritional guidelines set by Google, which the US firm has developed based on standards set by health experts and organisations.

Those who fail to declare products that are classed as high in fat, salt or sugar may not have their adverts published. If legal restrictions are stricter than those guidelines in certain countries, companies will need to follow the local laws.

The policy will come into force in early October, and will apply across the European Union and the UK. News of the move comes just days after the Government signalled that it would be taking a tougher stance on unhealthy food adverts, although Google is understood to have been developing the policy for the last year.

Under the recently unveiled National Obesity Strategy, the Government has said it will be banning all TV and online adverts for food high in fat, sugar and salt before 9pm.

Crisps, confectionery and sugary drinks companies are estimated to spend around £150million every year on advertising, with a growing proportion going to sites such as Google and Facebook.

A consultation has also been started on whether this type of advertising needs to be banned altogether. Google is understood to be planning to review the consultation once it is released.

However, it is thought the latest step by Google to protect younger users could go some way in reining in the need for a full ban.

Currently, around one in three children leaves primary school overweight or obese.

The issue has been called an “obesity time bomb”, which could lead to significantly higher costs for the NHS.

The recent push from the Government comes as figures suggest that those who are heavier have a greater risk of serious illness or death from

Covid-19. Research by Public Health England late last month found that severe obesity could increase the chance of dying from coronavirus by as much as 90 per cent.

Tam Fry, the chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said that if other companies followed Google’s lead, “though it would not be enough in itself to see off obesity, it would undoubtedly be a significant step towards that aim”.

The technology company is likely to face scrutiny over how well it monitors such adverts, especially given that the changes will still allow those who are not signed into a Google account to see them on its search page.