UK Food Advertising Ban: A Dangerous Shortcut in Obesity Policy – EFANews
Following the publication of my comment on EFANews, this post takes a closer look at the UK’s new restrictions on HFSS food advertising. While the goal of tackling childhood obesity is legitimate, the regulatory path chosen by the UK raises serious scientific, economic and policy concerns.
The full article is available here on EFANews.
UK Food Advertising Ban: A Dangerous Shortcut in Obesity Policy
As of 5 January 2026, the United Kingdom has implemented one of the most restrictive food advertising regimes in the world. Advertising for HFSS products (foods high in fat, sugar, and salt) is now banned on television before 9 pm and prohibited online at all times. The stated aim is to reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing and help curb childhood obesity.
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Few would dispute the urgency of the problem. What is far more questionable is the method. The UK approach relies heavily on the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM), a scoring system developed in the mid-2000s that classifies foods based on a simplified balance of “positive” and “negative” nutrients. This reductionist framework treats foods in isolation, ignoring portion size, frequency of consumption, dietary patterns, physical activity and individual responsibility.
The impact goes well beyond advertising. Many traditional foods, including products deeply rooted in European and Italian culinary culture, risk being penalised not because of overconsumption, but because of their intrinsic composition. Advertising restrictions create strong barriers to market entry, particularly for SMEs, while reformulation is often presented as the only viable solution—even when it is technically difficult or culturally inappropriate.
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Looking ahead, the debate becomes even more concerning. The UK is discussing “healthiness targets” for large retailers, based on the nutrient profile of overall sales. While these proposals do not amount to outright sales bans, they would shift regulation from communication to the architecture of food supply itself. Such an approach risks distorting competition, favouring large retailers and highly engineered products designed to meet administrative thresholds, while disadvantaging traditional foods, culinary diversity and entire agri-food value chains.
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By contrast, Italy has recently adopted a different path with its first comprehensive obesity law, focusing on education, prevention and individual responsibility rather than rigid classifications or blanket bans. Imperfect as it may be, this approach better reflects the complexity of obesity and non-communicable diseases.
The UK case is not just a national experiment. It is a precedent closely watched across Europe. The key question remains: are we addressing obesity in all its complexity, or replacing complexity with regulatory shortcuts that risk doing more harm than good?
