Nine UK mayors, including the mayors of Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North, West and South Yorkshire and the North East have backed Jamie Oliver’s ‘AdEnough’ campaign to stop the relentless bombardment of outdoor junk-food advertising.
The mayors have committed to banning junk food marketing across the areas they control and protecting the health and well-being of their communities.
This includes a pledge to help stop children being exposed to harmful junk food advertising on public transport. Any mayor introducing bus franchising powers will ban the adverts, with the same ban introduced on Metro systems, over the coming years.
The places we live in are flooded with unhealthy food. It’s in our schools, on our supermarket shelves and high streets, and is often heavily and manipulatively marketed. In January, it was reported that almost one in four children aged 10 and 11 in England have some degree of obesity, according to a study by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Southampton Biomedical Research Centre and University of Southampton.
Evidence shows that junk food advertising is contributing to alarming childhood obesity levels, heavily influencing what and how much our children eat. But today the Mayors have united behind a pledge to use their powers to stop the flood of unnecessary junk food adverts.
This summer, young activists from Bite Back launched a billboard ad campaign at family hubs across the UK, to spell out their clear message on junk food advertising: “Young activists bought this space so junk food giants couldn’t. We’re giving children a commercial break.”
As the group calls for an end to harmful advertising content, working together, the mayors have responded with a fresh unified commitment to take on targeted junk food marketing that is harming our children’s health in an effort to create healthier communities for children to live, grow and play. This is the first time that the Mayors have come together on a policy of this scale for public health.
“We know junk-food marketing has a huge impact – particularly among children,” said Oliver. “By taking action the mayors are doing what they can to safeguard the health and well-being of their communities. Of course there is more to do, but it’s a great start.”
North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, said: “By working together, we send a clear message to junk food companies – and align with broader national efforts to restrict junk food advertising – that the days of targeting children and young people with predatory advertising for products that harm their health are over. Enough is enough.”
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, added: “The health and wellbeing of our communities is vital. Public transport plays an important role in this, encouraging people to choose more sustainable ways to travel.
“As we take greater control of our public transport network in West Yorkshire, we must continue this good work promoting healthy, active lifestyles by taking a sensible approach to the advertising of junk food.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “Bite Back have taken the fight to the junk food giants and it’s only right that we join our voices in support. Our young people deserve the best possible start in life and that means leaders speaking as one and taking action where we can to limit the influence of junk food adverts.”
