Giving junk food the same status as the TV programs that are deemed to be unsuitable for young audiences, the UK Food Standards Agency said that a ban on televised junk food ads before 9pm might be the most effective way to combat the childhood obesity epidemic. This was proposed as being a more feasible alternative than potential junk food ad regulations proposed by the television watchdog group Ofcom.
Ofcom offered three proposals. One was to ban all food and drink ads from children's programming and one only applied to ads for foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Their final suggestion called for limits on the number of ads that could be shown. FSA felt that these would be difficult to enforce or, as in the case of the first suggestion, did not allow for ads featuring healthy foods to be shown.
The FSA's proposal seems more likely to have an effect, due to its rather drastic nature, and consumer health groups have already given it a lot of support. Whether it comes to pass remains to be seen, but it doesn't seem like they considered the most obvious way to combat childhood obesity: get kids away from the TV and encourage them to be more active.
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