Advertising of HFSS food and drink to children

TV and online advertising restrictions for certain identifiable less healthy food or drink items are due to come into force UK-wide on 5 January 2026 under the Communications Act 2003, as amended by the Health and Care Act 2022.

An HFSS product is a food or soft drink that is high in fat, salt or sugar (as classified by the Department of Health (DH) nutrient profiling model). HFSS products may also be referred to as “less healthy food and drink”. There is public debate about the impact of advertising HFSS products on levels of childhood obesity. Campaign groups and health bodies have called for tighter regulation.

Childhood obesity

In 2019, the UK Government called childhood obesity “one of the biggest health challenges this country faces”.[1] Data from the National Child Measurement Programme, England, 2023-24 school year, showed the prevalence of obesity in reception children increased from 9.2% in 2022/23 to 9.6% in 2023/24 (this is lower than in 2019/20, but similar to 2018/19).[2] The prevalence of obesity in Year 6 children decreased from 22.7% in 2022/23 to 22.1% in 2023/24 (this is higher than in 2018/19 and 2019/20).[3]

The government published its Childhood obesity: a plan for action in June 2018. It set the goal of halving childhood obesity and reducing the gap in obesity between children from the most and least deprived areas by 2030. In setting this target, the government said that “obesity is associated with reduced life expectancy” and a “risk factor for a range of chronic diseases”. Reducing children’s exposure to advertising of HFSS products on television and online was an important part of the government’s approach to reduce childhood obesity.

Current restrictions under the Advertising Codes

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the UK’s single independent advertising regulator in all mediums. It does this by enforcing the Advertising Codes. There are separate codes for non-broadcast adverts (the CAP Code) and broadcast advertisements (the BCAP Code).

In response to concerns about childhood obesity, both the CAP and BCAP Codes place restrictions on the placement and content of HFSS product advertisements. A ban on the advertising of HFSS products during children's television programmes, and programmes with a high proportion of children viewers, was introduced in 2007.

Government action

Following two consultations (an initial consultation in 2019 and a second consultation in 2020), the government published in June 2021 a formal response on advertising restrictions for HFSS products. To protect children, the government said it would introduce the following advertising restrictions across the UK:

• A 9pm watershed for advertisements of HFSS products, applicable to television and UK on-demand programmes
• A prohibition on paid-for advertising of unhealthy food and drink products online

Both advertising restrictions are legislated for in the Health and Care Act 2022 (schedule 18), which received Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. The act inserts new powers into the Communications Act 2003, enabling the advertising restrictions to be taken forward in secondary legislation.

From December 2022 to March 2023, the government consulted on the draft Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2022. Stakeholders and the public were asked about:

• the clarity of the definitions set out in the draft regulations of the products, businesses and services in scope of the advertising restrictions
• specific examples around audio-only content

The government said it would lay the regulations as soon as possible.

The advertising restrictions were originally planned to come into force on 1 January 2023. However, they were postponed for a year and were then further delayed until 1 October 2025.

In the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, the Labour government announced it would implement the advertising restrictions for less healthy food and drink. This was a manifesto commitment. It also said it would restrict the sale of high caffeine energy drinks to under 16s.

On 12 September 2024, the government published a response to the 2022 consultation on secondary legislation to introduce TV and online advertising restrictions for HFSS products. It said the new rules would be in place from 1 October 2025.

However, in a written statement made on 22 May 2025, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, Ashley Dalton, announced a delay to the restrictions coming into force – from 1 October 2025 to 5 January 2026. She said the government intended to introduce secondary legislation that would explicitly exempt “brand advertising” from the advertising restrictions of less healthy food and drink on TV and online. To allow time for consultation on the draft secondary legislation, the government had decided to postpone the implementation date of the restrictions.

Significantly, the minister said that in agreement with the government, advertisers and broadcasters (with the support of online platforms and publishers) had made a commitment to comply with the advertising restrictions as though they were still coming into force from 1 October 2025.

Prior to this announcement, industry stakeholders had raised concerns about the ASA's enforcement guidance. The current position is that legal clarification of "brand advertising" is to be determined before the advertising restrictions come into force on 5 January 2026, subject to Parliamentary approval.

This briefing summarises current restrictions on the advertising, marketing and promotion of HFSS products. It considers the background to, and the detail of, the new advertising restrictions as set out in the Health and Care Act 2022. It does not, however, assess the health arguments surrounding the sale of HFSS foods.

This briefing focuses on the advertising of HFSS foods to children. However, the government hopes that the proposed advertising restrictions will also help reduce obesity in adults.