A Multi-component Evaluation of New Restrictions on Marketing of Less Healthy Foods in England
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Funded by National Institute for Health Research.
Collaboration with London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Cambridge, University of Exeter, University of Liverpool, University of Oxford and University of Waterloo.
In the UK, many people do not eat in ways that best supports their health. One reason for this is food marketing. Food marketing includes adverts on TV and online as well as special offers. Food marketing mostly focuses on less healthy things like fast food and sweets. I'In October 2025, new rules banned special offers on less healthy food and drinks (eg 3-for-2 offers). In January 2024, further rules will ban TV adverts for these items from 5.30am to 9pm and some online ads. A standard definition of ‘less healthy’ will be used. The effects of these bans could extend beyond what food and drinks are marketed. For example, companies may start making healthier food to avoid the bans. Or peoples’ buying habits may change, with an impact on the health of the population and economy.
We aim to understand the impacts of the bans on health, the economy and society. This will inform future government policy.
We will first study impacts on food marketing. We will use data collected by market research companies and by us and compare the year before the bans to the year after. We will study whether special offers on less healthy items become less common, whether healthier items become more available, and how TV and online advertising changes. We will use data on grocery purchases from 30,000 households to study changes in buying habits. We have already developed a method to predict changes in chronic diseases from changes in food purchasing. We will use this to predict changes in weight, diabetes, heart disease and cancer over 10 years. We will also study any changes in costs to the NHS of treating these conditions. The bans could lead to loss of employment in food, media and advertising. We will track the economic performance of relevant companies in the year before the bans compared to the year after. We will then combine results from all our work to estimate the impacts of the bans on society. We will balance impacts on health and the NHS with those on the economy. The bans might not work as intended. We will run focus groups and surveys to understand how parents and youth experience the bans. Interviews with people from government and the private sector will help us understand what did and didn't go well.
'The overall study is led by Professor Jean Adams (PI) at the University of Cambridge. The University of Stirling leads a work package exploring public awareness, support and experiences of the bans
Total award value £193,902.90