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The press release issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 5 January 2026.

Children will be protected from exposure to junk food ads under new regulations, in a bid to tackle childhood obesity.

• Government delivers on pledge to restrict junk food advertising and help parents raise healthiest generation of children ever
• New regulations will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from UK children’s diets each year as part of drive to reduce childhood obesity
• Children will be protected from excessive exposure to unhealthy food adverts on television and online.

Kids will be protected from exposure to junk food advertising on TV and online as new regulations come into force to help tackle childhood obesity.

From today, adverts for less healthy food and drinks will be banned on television before 9pm, and online at all times.

This decisive and world-leading action by this government is expected to remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets each year, reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000 and deliver around £2 billion in health benefits over time.

Evidence shows advertising influences what and when children eat, shaping preferences from a young age and increasing the risk of obesity and related illnesses. The ban targets the media children and young people use most at the times they use it.

At the start of primary school, 22.1% of children in England are living with overweight or obesity and this rises to 35.8% by the time they leave. Tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions for young children (typically ages 5-9) in the UK.

Minister for Health, Ashley Dalton said:

We promised to do everything we can to give every child the best and healthiest start in life.

By restricting adverts for junk food before 9pm and banning paid adverts online, we can remove excessive exposure to unhealthy foods – making the healthy choice the easy choice for parents and children.

We’re moving the dial from having the NHS treat sickness, to preventing it so people can lead healthier lives and so it can be there for us when we need it.

This government has worked closely with health campaigners and industry leaders to find the right balance which combines our commitment to raising healthy kids and economic growth. It’s in everyone’s interest that parents and children can make healthy choices and we thank food and drink companies for getting behind these restrictions voluntary since October ahead of them taking legal effect today.

Previous interventions, such as the Soft Drinks Industry Levy resulted in businesses reformulating to make products healthier, and the measures coming into effect today have already had a similar impact, driving the development and promotion of healthier options.

This change is part of a range of measures the government is taking to lift children out of poverty and help give them the best start in life.

To tackle obesity and improve diets, this government has introduced the Healthy Food Standard to make the average shopping basket of goods healthier, and we’re giving local authorities the power to stop fast food shops setting up outside schools.

Katharine Jenner, Executive Director, Obesity Health Alliance, said:

It’s been one battle after another, but we are finally going to see children being protected from the worst offending junk food adverts. This is a welcome and long-awaited step towards better protecting children from unhealthy food and drink advertising that can harm their health and wellbeing. These new restrictions will help reduce children’s exposure to the most problematic adverts and mark real progress towards a healthier food environment.

For the government to achieve its ambition of raising the healthiest generation ever, this is an important policy as part of a broader approach to preventing obesity-related ill health. Continuing to strengthen the rules over time will help ensure these protections remain effective.

Colette Marshall, Chief Executive at Diabetes UK, said: 

With type 2 diabetes on the rise in young people, the need to improve children’s health in the UK has never been greater. Obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes, and the condition can lead to more severe consequences in young people – leaving them at risk of serious complications like kidney failure and heart disease.

The long-awaited move to restrict junk food advertising – along with other measures such as mandatory healthy food sales reporting for businesses and the extension of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy – can help protect the health of our children, creating a future where conditions like type 2 diabetes can be prevented in young people.

The Soft Drink Industry Levy will be extended to cover more products, including sugary milk-based drinks – and we’re helping to further improve kids’ diets by banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under 16.

In December, the Prime Minister announced parents could save up to £500 a year on baby formula thanks to new government measures aimed at reducing household costs and easing the cost of living for hard-working families.

This government has also introduced supervised toothbrushing for three to five-year-olds to protect those in the most deprived communities from tooth decay.

Our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill, meanwhile, will break the cycle of addiction and stop the next generation getting hooked on nicotine. It will also halt the advertising and sponsorship of vapes, limiting their packaging, flavours and displays which lure young people in.

These measures combined with the junk food ban mark the 10 Year Health Plan’s shift towards prevention and significant progress towards the government’s our pledge of raising the healthiest generation of children ever.

Farid (17), Bite Back Activist, said: 

Today is a milestone moment – one that young people across the UK have been campaigning for over many years. We welcome the government taking action to put children’s health front and centre, to protect young people from the predatory and manipulative marketing of unhealthy food by junk food giants.

These new rules are an important first step that begins to rip down the wallpaper of junk food advertising that surrounds young people on TV and online every day. We’re proud to see this change finally happen. But this cannot be the end. Young people are energised to keep pushing, working hard to make 2026 the year we fully transform the environments children grow up in.

Malcolm Clark, Senior Policy Manager at Cancer Research UK, said:

The world around us heavily influences what we eat and drink, which is why Cancer Research UK has long campaigned for restrictions on advertising unhealthy foods to children.

Measures announced today – if properly enforced – are a crucial step towards creating an environment that protects children and empowers healthy lifestyle changes. 

Obesity and overweight causes at least 13 different types of cancer, and children living with obesity are much more likely to live with obesity as adults too. The UK Government must build on this landmark legislation with further bold action to make a healthy diet more accessible and reduce people’s risk of cancer in the future.

Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the Local Government Association’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said:

This is a positive step towards creating healthier environments for children and tackling childhood obesity.

Childhood obesity remains one of the most significant public health challenges we face, driving health inequalities and placing a significant cost burden on the NHS and wider society. These measures are an important part of a whole systems approach, alongside local action to improve access to healthy food and opportunities for physical activity.

We are pleased to see that these measures complement other public health initiatives, such as the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which together signal a strong commitment to prevention and improving health outcomes.

Alice Wiseman MBE, Vice President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said:

The vast majority of deaths in this country are caused by preventable illnesses and disease, including many cancers, respiratory, heart and liver disease. These illnesses are often linked to the consumption of harmful products like unhealthy food and drink, but this is not the result of personal choice.

The reality is that what we eat and drink is heavily influenced by cheap prices and clever marketing campaigns backed by multi-million pound budgets. We simply don’t have the freedom to choose.

There is no quick fix, but we know from our experience of tackling tobacco harm, that one of the key ways to reduce illness and death caused by harmful products is to introduce tighter restrictions on advertising those products.  

There is of course further to go, but today’s legislation is a significant and welcome step forward in protecting people from industry influence and reducing the number of people living with – and dying from – preventable illness and disease.