Junk food and drinks warning for children

Around half of television food and drink adverts seen by children are for products high in fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) or for fast food restaurants, researchers have found.

The advertising of junk food products has been banned during children’s programmes since 2007 but the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that 70 per cent of TV campaigns for HFSS products or restaurants and bars are screened prior to the 9pm watershed.

Evidence from watchdog Ofcom suggests that in 2016 children spent 64 per cent of their viewing time watching television outside children’s programming.

Some 87 per cent of the TV advertising for food and drink seen by children aged four to 15 in 2015 was during non-children’s programming, according to the IFS.