A new study shows that a complete ban on junk food advertising could cut Scotland's childhood obesity levels by as much as 14%.

Scottish children were among six countries analysed by scientists from Australia, Sweden and the UK, with the conclusion that food advertising has a significant impact on the eating habits of six to 11 year-olds.

Even though junk food adverts during children's programmes were banned in 2007, health campaigners say children are still susceptible to seeing ads during adult shows before the 9pm watershed and have called for a total ban.

Junk food adverts are connected to "devastating consequences" according to the study's co-author, Dr Emmanuel Stamatakis, of University College London.

He said: "The bottom line is that there is a good chance that television advertising contributes significantly to childhood obesity.

"Even a seven to eight per-cent contribution is important given how big the problem is and how devastating the consequences will be for a child's future health."

The study's findings come after the latest 2008/2009 NHS statistics class eight per-cent of Scotland's primary one pupils as obese, and 3.9 per-cent as severely obese.

A Scottish Government spokesperson responded by claiming they were committed to tackling childhood obesity.

They said: "While advertising is a reserved matter, we have already introduced a range of measures to improve children's diets and encourage them to be more active.

"These include nutritional standards for school meals, the Active Schools programme and guidance on healthy food provision in nurseries and other early years' establishments."

The study - among the first to show the quantified effect of advertising on childhood obesity - will be published in the Journal of Public Health Nutrition next month.