The way forward: policies to reduce children’s exposure to junk food marketing

It is clear that food marketing promotes unhealthy foods and has a negative impact on children’s health.¹ A systematic review found evidence that policies that restrict unhealthy food marketing to children results in decreased exposure to food marketing and may reduce purchasing of unhealthy foods.² Food marketing policies have also shown to be cost-effective. A systematic review by the World Health Organization, including nine studies, found that restricting food marketing to children is cost-effective over the long term.³ For example, an Australian modelling study from 2018 found that a hypothetical law that restricts the advertising of high fat, sugar and salt foods on free-to-air TV until 9.30 pm was estimated to cost Australian $ 5.9 million with $783.8 million in healthcare savings over the same period, resulting in a net cost savings (including the cost of the intervention) of $777.9 million.⁴

The WHO guidelines⁵ recommend Member States implement policies to restrict marketing of foods high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars and/or salt to which children are exposed, and that such policies:

• be mandatory
• protect children of all ages
• use a government-led nutrient profile model to classify foods to be restricted from marketing
• be sufficiently comprehensive to minimize the risk of migration of marketing to other media, to other spaces within the same medium or to other age groups; and
• restrict the power of food marketing to persuade.

Evidence from tobacco control is that comprehensive marketing restrictions are needed to reduce consumption.⁶ Partial restrictions that apply only to some media will simply shift marketing to unregulated media. Researchers have called for rigorous monitoring of statutory regulation to limit unhealthy food marketing to children; and stressed the importance of recognising that improvements in children’s health are likely to be gained over the long term and may be cumulative.⁷

For more evidence on the global framework for unhealthy food marketing, please see the Obesity Evidence Hub page Unhealthy food marketing: A global framework.

Unhealthy food marketing regulation around the world

Countries that have introduced statutory bans on food marketing to children in some forms of media include the United Kingdom, South Korea, Taiwan, Chile, Mexico and Norway.⁸⁹

The Canadian Province of Quebec also introduced a law in 1980 banning all advertising to children, including unhealthy food, in print and electronic media that was the first of its kind and has been linked to a reduction in spending on fast food.¹⁰

In 2022, the United Kingdom passed legislation to introduce a 9pm “watershed” for unhealthy food marketing across all television, meaning that advertisements for foods high in sugar, salt, and fats are only allowed to be shown from 9pm to 5:30am.¹¹ This UK legislation also includes a ban on all unhealthy food marketing that has been “paid for” online. Implementation of this law is expected in January 2026.¹² The UK Government has also banned all unhealthy food promotions at prominent store locations and the use of volume-based price promotions (for example, multibuy offers – buy 2 for $10).¹³

At a local level, in 2019 the Mayor of London implemented a ban on all food advertisements for foods high in salt, sugar or fat across Transport of London infrastructure. Evaluation of this policy found that it has led to approximately a 6.7% reduction in average weekly household purchases of energy from HFSS products compared to what would have been expected without the ban.¹⁴ Modelling studies have shown that over the long term the policy is likely to lead to considerable health and economic gains and reduce health inequities in London.¹⁵

Country case study: Chile

Chile has implemented the world’s most comprehensive approach to obesity prevention to date.¹⁶ The country is facing a crisis of overweight and obesity, with three-quarters of adults above a healthy weight, and rates of childhood obesity that are among the highest in the world.¹⁷ Until the late 1980s, malnutrition was widespread among poor Chileans, especially children.¹⁷ The rise in obesity has coincided with a period of industrialisation and urbanisation, resulting in a rapid dietary shift towards increased consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages, as well as a sedentary lifestyle.¹⁸

Faced with this crisis, Chilean authorities have acted on foods and beverages that exceed set thresholds for added sugars, sodium, saturated fats and calories, which are subject to:

• Front-of-package warning labels (for packaged products)
• Marketing restrictions including the prohibition of¹⁶:
  • any form of marketing for unhealthy food or drinks that uses child appeals, including the use of characters (child figures, animations or cartoons (including brand equity characters)); children’s music; premiums (toys, accessories or stickers); people or animals that capture children’s interest; statements or fantastic arguments about the product or its effects; situations that represent children’s daily life, expressions, or language; interactive applications, games, contests; and “hooks” not related to the product itself;
  • unhealthy foods and drinks marketed on dedicated children's websites, on child-targeted websites or when children are more than 20% of the audience
  • advertising of unhealthy foods and drinks on television and in cinemas between 6:00am and 10:00pm;
  • advertising of unhealthy foods and drinks inside schools.

Research has shown that since implementation of the law, there has been a significant decrease in children’s exposure to television advertising for foods high in added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat.¹⁹ An analysis comparing Phase 1 of the Law (restrictions on “child-directed” marketing) with Phase 2 of the Law (watershed ban on all unhealthy food marketing between 6am and 10pm on television) showed that the Phase 2 watershed was more effective at reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing.²⁰ Additionally, research has found that child-directed marketing on breakfast cereals high in added sugar and calories has been significantly reduced after the introduction of the Law.²¹

Country Case example: United Kingdom

As part of a comprehensive strategy to address population-wide obesity levels, the UK Government has enacted various legislative measures to limit the marketing of high fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) foods. This includes restrictions in broadcast and online media (through an amendment to the Communications Act 2003)¹¹ and in retail environments (via The Food (Promotion and Placement) Regulations 2021).¹³ In broadcast media, all advertising for HFSS foods are prohibited between 5.30am and 21:00.¹¹ For online media, no person can pay (monetary or non-monetary) for a HFSS food or beverage advertisement to be placed on the Internet. For retail outlets, the promotion of HFSS food and beverages are prohibited by location and volume price (e.g. multibuy offers – buy 2 for $10) in medium and large businesses that sell food or drink in England (50 or more employees).¹³

The restrictions on placement of less healthy foods and drinks in retail stores and online equivalents came into force on 1 October 2022. Restrictions on price promotions, and on the placement of HFSS ads on broadcast media and online are due to be implemented in October 2025.

Unhealthy food marketing and data protection

Around the world various legislative measures have been implemented to address the privacy and data protection risk posed by the online collection of children’s data. In the United States the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) prohibits the collection of identifiable information from children under the age of 13 years without parental consent.²² The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union prohibits the collection and processing of personal data from children aged under 16 years.²³ In Australia, a Children’s Online Privacy Code will be developed by the Information Commissioner, as established by the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024.²⁴ Once implemented, the Code will set out requirements for the collection, use, and disclosure of children’s personal information, aimed at providing enhanced protection for children under 18 years old when interacting with online services.²⁴

It is not clear whether strong data protection regulation can lead to any significant reduction in exposure to unhealthy food marketing online, as digital platforms and advertising agencies may target children using alternative and evolving technologies.

Government policies and regulation to protect children from unhealthy food marketing in Australia

Action to protect children from unhealthy food marketing is supported by government strategies and parliamentary inquiries in Australia. The Australian National Preventive Health Strategy, the National Obesity Strategy and the Parliamentary inquiry report on The State of Diabetes Mellitus in Australia in 2024 all support action to protect Australian children from unhealthy food marketing.²⁵²⁶²⁷ Reducing exposure to unhealthy food marketing has been agreed by state, territory and Commonwealth Health Ministers as one of the priority strategies of the National Obesity Strategy.²⁸

The Australian Government has commissioned a feasibility study into policy options to limit unhealthy food marketing to children in Australia and consultation was undertaken in early 2024, although the final report has not yet been released.²⁹

Food for Health Alliance (FHA) recommends Australian Government regulation to protect children from exposure to unhealthy food marketing. Drawing on the available evidence, FHA concludes that an effective regulatory scheme should:³⁰

1. Make all online environments free from unhealthy food marketing
2. Ensure TV, radio and similar media are free from unhealthy food marketing at all times when children are watching or listening
3. Make all public spaces, public events and retail environments free from unhealthy food marketing
4. Prevent companies from marketing unhealthy food directly to children with tactics like cartoons on product packaging, toys and prizes

This policy platform is supported by many leading public health, consumer and medical organisations in Australia.³⁰

While a comprehensive and consistent national scheme to reduce unhealthy food marketing to children would require federal regulation, states and territories can take some action within their jurisdiction.

The Australian Capital Territory government has restricted promotion of junk food on its government-run bus service since 2015.³¹ In January 2025, the South Australian Government announced a policy to ban unhealthy food marketing on all state-owned buses, trains and trams, with implementation due 1^st July 2025.³²

Content for this page was reviewed and updated by Rebecca Bennett and Kathryn Backholer at the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition at Deakin University. For more information about the approach to content on the site please see About | Obesity Evidence Hub.