Watching one extra junk food ad a week means 18,000 more calories a year
Watching one extra junk food advertisement a week means children eat an additional 18,000 calories a year, research has found.
The study by Cancer Research UK shows the additional consumption is the equivalent of around 70 Mars bars or 60 cheeseburgers – and could amount to a 5lb weight gain annually.
The charity is among those calling for advertising of unhealthy foods to be banned before the 9pm watershed.
The research – the largest of its kind – involved more than 3,300 children and teenagers between the ages of 11 and 19 who were asked about adverts for product high in salt, sugar and fat.
On average, young people watched 21 hours of television a week with adverts, including around six junk food adverts per week, and eating around 30 unhealthily snack items weekly. And seeing just one extra advert each week was associated with consumption of an extra 60 such snacks a year – or 18,000 calories annually.
Obese participants in the study were found to watch around five hours more television weekly, and one extra advertisement.
The food industry wouldn’t pump hundreds of millions into advertising their products by creating catchy adverts if it didn’t get people to eat more
Dr Jyotsna Vohra, study author
The findings, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, Austria, come as ministers prepare to publish an updated childhood obesity strategy, which could see restrictions on advertisements and marketing.
Study author, Dr Jyotsna Vohra, head of the Cancer Policy Research Centre at Cancer Research UK, said the observational study suggested clear links between obesity and advertising.
“Junk food marketing is associated with obesity in young people of all ages, and we know that obesity is linked to at least 13 types of cancer”, she said.
“The food industry wouldn’t pump hundreds of millions into advertising their products by creating catchy adverts if it didn’t get people to eat more.”
Current broadcast regulations in the UK “clearly aren’t working” and have not been updated for a decade, she said. And she said future restrictions should also cover streaming platforms, given that around half of television watched by young people is now consumed this way.
The study found that on average, young people consumed around 30 unhealthy snacks weekly – taking up around half of their recommended total calorie intake – but just 16 portions of fruit and vegetables.
The more junk food advertisements young people watched, the more junk food they ate, with all participants able to recall a favourite advertisement, with those which were catchy and fun standing out.
“With today’s teens spending more time in front of screens than any other activity apart from sleeping, curbing exposure to junk food ads on streaming platforms as well as TV will be key to helping teens make healthy diet choices and reducing obesity rates,” Dr Vohra said.
One third of children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school, and two thirds of adults weigh too much, national statistics show.
Separate research suggests obese children are around five times more likely to become obese adults with a much higher risk of health problems including 13 cancers, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Last year, research by the Obesity Health Alliance found that junk food companies in the UK spend £143 million a year on advertising – almost 30 times the £5 million spent annually by the Government on healthy eating campaigns.
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