Porridge among products included in UK Government junk food advert ban

Porridge adverts will be banned from next year as part of the UK Government’s crackdown on junk food advertising.

The ban, first proposed by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government in 2021, will come into force in October next year. After that, television ads for junk food products will be allowed only after 9pm.

The Government published the list of items that will be affected by the ban, which includes “breakfast cereals such as ready-to-eat cereals, granola, muesli, porridge oats and other oat-based cereals.”

Officials said the ban is expected to remove 7.2 billion calories a year from UK children’s diets and estimated the measures would prevent 20,000 cases of childhood obesity.

Other items that will be banned from being advertised before 9pm include ice cream, pastries, sweet biscuits, and bars based on one or more nuts, seeds or cereal.

The Government said some items would be excluded from the ban, including infant formula, total diet replacement products, and meal replacement products which use an approved “health claim” provided in the annexe to food for special medical purposes.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said the legislation is the first step in delivering a “major shift” in healthcare.

“Obesity robs our kids of the best possible start in life, sets them up for a lifetime of health problems, and costs the NHS billions,” he said.

Streeting continued: “This government is taking action now to end the targeting of junk food ads at kids on TV and online.

“This is the first step to deliver a major shift in the focus of healthcare from sickness to prevention, and towards meeting our government’s ambition to give every child a healthy, happy start to life.”

NHS data shows a trend of rising childhood obesity, with almost one in ten primary one-aged children (9.2%) now living with obesity and one in five by the age of five (23.7%) suffering tooth decay because of excess sugar consumption.

Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: “NHS figures show that one in eight toddlers and primary school children are obese, and this is clearly a problem not only because we know that it could lead to young people having health issues later in life, but it’s also storing up problems for a future NHS which already spends billions dealing with the issue.

“We’ve always said the NHS can play its part in supporting people who are obese to reach a healthier weight, but we need to work with the rest of society to prevent people becoming overweight in the first place.

“So we welcome this proposed legislation and look forward to working with the government and partners to help protect the good health of future generations.”

Children with obesity are said to be more likely to live with the condition as adults and to be at significantly greater risk of life-limiting illnesses.