Plans to restrict unhealthy food advertising in York
The City Council say it's part of a strategy to tackle childhood obesity
There are plans to restrict the advertising of unhealthy foods in York - to help tackle rising rates of childhood obesity.
The City Council’s advertising policy is designed to restrict high fat, salt and sugar products being displayed to residents to help promote better health and wellbeing.
The City of York council is following in the footsteps of Transport for London and several other local authorities to shape the types of products the council will allow to be advertised through its new contract.
Children and young people have been shown to be more susceptible to the effects of unhealthy food marketing than adults, and those who have been exposed to more advertising have measurably higher calorie intake.
"A significant step in the right direction"
Peter Roderick, Director of Public Health at City of York Council, said: “The number of children living with an unhealthy weight has been increasing in York and nationally. Approximately 1 in 4 reception-aged children, 1 in 3 year six children and 2 in 3 adults in York are not living with a healthy weight.
“Changing our advertising policy is another significant step in the right direction to helping support families and young people and reinforces all the positive work we’re doing across the city to improve children’s nutrition.”
Cllr Jo Coles, Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care, said: “As a council we want to reduce our health inequalities, including ensuring health is factored into all our policies and the decisions we make. We know that children and particularly susceptible to food advertising and that currently over 50 percent of the calories they consume come from ultra processed food. This report is about the council using the limited powers we have to swap out unhealthy food ads for healthy ones.”
The new advertising policy will allow greater controls over the types of advertising that is displayed on all council property, assets and public estate in York. Initially focusing on a new contract to manage bus shelters, the policy will also cover all new and retendered advertising contracts, including boundary signs, car parks and roundabouts.
The policy also gives the council control over the marketing of a number of other products which impact on health and wellbeing in the city, including tobacco and vaping, alcohol products, advertisement for gambling products and services, and for loans and speculative financial products.