Exploring the potential impact of the proposed UK TV and online food advertising regulations: a concept mapping study

Abstract

ObjectivesIn July 2020 the UK Government announced an intention to restrict advertisements for products high in fat, salt or sugar on live broadcast, catch-up and on-demand television before 21:00 hours; and paid for online advertising. As no other jurisdiction has implemented similar regulations, there is no empirical evidence about how they might perturb the food system. To guide the regulations’ implementation and evaluation, we aimed to develop a concept map to hypothesise their potential consequences for the commercial food system, health and society.MethodsWe used adapted group concept mapping in four virtual workshops with food marketing and regulation experts across academia, civil society, government organisations, and industry (n=14), supported by Miro software. We merged concepts derived from the four workshops to develop a master map and then invited feedback from participants via email to generate a final concept map.ResultsThe concept map shows how the reactions of stakeholders to the regulations may reinforce or undermine the impact on the commercial food system, health and society. The map shows adaptations made by stakeholders that could reinforce, or undermine, positive impacts on public health. It also illustrates potential weaknesses in the design and implementation of the regulations that could result in little substantial difference to public health.ConclusionsPrior to the regulations’ initial implementation or subsequent iterations, they could be altered to maximise the potential for reinforcing adaptations, minimise the potential for undermining adaptations and ensure they cover a wide range of advertising opportunities and foods. The concept map will also inform the design of an evaluation of the regulations and could be used to inform the design and evaluation of similar regulations elsewhere.

Industry views of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: a thematic analysis of elite interviews with food and drink industry professionals, 2018–2020

“…The proposed ban on TV and online advertising of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products by the UK Government34 was viewed by industry to be misguided as they stated it may stop them from being able to advertise their reformulated products; not just those impacted by the SDIL but products voluntarily reformulated which would still be classified as HFSS. Stakeholder requests for consistency across policy areas were also expressed by interviewees regarding this advertising ban 49. This indicates that a more consistent approach to determining which products government wants industry to change would help ensure policies do not undermine one another and build trust in government among industry.…”

“…Stakeholder requests for consistency across policy areas were also expressed by interviewees regarding this advertising ban. 49 This indicates that a more consistent approach to determining which products government wants industry to change would help ensure policies do not undermine one another and build trust in government among industry.…”

Is it ethical to advertise unhealthy foods to children?

“…However, the food and advertising industries and the public health community often have different perspectives in terms of the evidence supporting the impact of marketing on children, the acceptability of marketing unhealthy foods to this demographic and the need for, and utility of, policy action (12) . Associated challenges in the design and implementation of restrictive food marketing policies (13) , as well as the development of methods to evaluate their impact on key indicators (14) , have highlighted the multiple ethical issues inherent in the practice of exposing children to unhealthy food marketing and efforts to monitor and restrict it.…”