In 1976, Larry Groce was catapulted to stardom, thanks to his country-rock hit “Junk Food Junkies”. Groce sings, “In the daytime I’m Mr. Natural/ Just as healthy as I can be/ But at night I’m a junk food junkie”. An innocent enough jingle, expected to be played in waiting rooms or on service operator phone holds.

Except, his lyrics now echo throughout Whitehall.

The Department of Health and Social Care has announced a new watershed on television advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) between 5.30am and 9pm. This UK-wide ban extends to paid-for online advertising as well and follows an extensive public consultation in light of the UK government’s continuing efforts to tackle child obesity. Commenting on the ban, Jo Churchill, the public health minister, said that it’s a necessary measure to “get the nation fitter and healthier by giving people the chance to make more informed decisions when it comes to food”.

As expected, the ban has been praised by many organisations fighting to eradicate obesity and labelled draconian by industry representatives. However, most poignantly, the ban raises some serious questions regarding its ability to make a real impact on the UK’s eating habits.

On the one hand, the latest NHS Health Survey for England found that 28% of adults in England are obese, which can lead to greater risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other ailments. A further 36.2% are overweight but not obese. That means that over half the English population is overweight. Furthermore, childhood obesity starts in children as little as 4-5 (9.9%), increasing at 10-11 where 21% are obese. Yet, the National Child Measurement Programme adds a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it statistic that is wholly key to understanding where the problem is most acute: at age 10-11, 13.9% of children in the least deprived areas are obese, compared with a whopping 27.2% in the most deprived areas.

These data points are astonishing but not surprising: childhood obesity is linked to adulthood obesity, and, at the same time, obesity is also a by-product of cheaper eating habits. As the 2019/2020 National Child Measurement Programme report indicates, the most underserved areas in the UK also exhibit the highest levels of childhood obesity. The ban on advertising foods high in fat, sugar, and salt will not make a difference to eating habits that entirely depend on high-calorie, low-cost foods.

Government initiatives such as calorie-labelling and bans on advertising HFSS food are plasters on a much deeper wound.