As the European Commission looks for new ways to tackle Europe’s growing obesity crisis, food marketing has emerged as a key battleground.
The UK’s newly implemented restrictions on unhealthy food advertising offer a glimpse of the type of measures now under consideration in Brussels. At the same time, they underline the political, economic, and cultural resistance the Commission would face were it to pursue similar rules across the EU.
On 5 January, new UK legislation came into force restricting the marketing of high fat, salt and sugar foods (HFSS), as part of efforts to tackle child obesity. The legislation prohibits HFSS food advertising on TV before 9pm, as well as at any time online.
The restrictions will apply to foods including soft drinks, chocolate, and pizza, as well as some breakfast cereals and sandwiches. A nutrient profiling model developed by the Food Standard Agency (FSA) is used to determine which products fall within the scope, focusing on product categories considered to pose the greatest public health concern. Companies that fail to comply risk action from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
However, the legislation still allows brand advertising. McDonald’s, for example, can continue to promote its brand provided no burgers or milkshakes appear in adverts. Critics argue this undermines the effectiveness of the policy, disproportionately shielding larger companies from its full impact.
The stakes are high. In the UK, more than 1 in 3 children (35.8%) are overweight or obese by the end of primary school. A substantial body of evidence shows that exposure to advertising for unhealthy foods influences children’s eating habits from an early age, increasing their long-term risk of obesity.
The EU’s new approach to supporting cardiovascular health
Across the Channel, the European Commission published its new Safe Hearts Plan in December, setting out a new strategy to address cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the EU. The plan places strong emphasis on prevention, including reducing smoking and alcohol consumption, and promoting vaccination.
Diet also features prominently. The Commission highlights that children and young people are particularly vulnerable to marketing for ultra-processed and HFSS foods. As a result, it has committed to evaluating the Audiovisual Media Services Directive by the end of 2026, with the possibility of a subsequent revision. As the Directive is designed to protect viewers – especially children – from harmful advertising, this opens the door to restrictions resembling those recently introduced in the UK.
How likely is EU action to succeed?
History shows that trying forge a common position on food policy among the 27 EU Member States is far from straightforward. Obesity rates, dietary habits, and food cultures vary widely across the bloc, and previous efforts, such as attempts to agree on EU-wide front-of-pack nutrition labelling, have encountered fierce resistance.
In Germany, attempts by the Green party under the previous coalition government to introduce marketing restrictions were strongly opposed by the liberal FDP and centre-right CDU/CSU, and the plan has since been shelved under the new government. In contrast, Portugal has, since 2019, restricted unhealthy food advertising on TV when at least 25% of the audience is made up of children under the age of 16.
Whether the EU chooses to pursue rigorous advertising restrictions – and whether it mirrors the UK model or adopts a different approach – remains to be seen.
From consumer empowerment to shaping the food environment
One of the most notable shifts in obesity policy is the move away from a focus on consumer information towards addressing the wider “food environment” – the broader physical, economic, and social conditions that shape food choices, including availability, affordability, and marketing.
Research shows that food environments can actively drive obesity by making high-calorie, nutrient-poor foods cheaper, more convenient, and heavily promoted, while healthier options are often less accessible or more expensive. This suggests that education and information alone are insufficient to drive meaningful dietary change; structural factors such as pricing, promotion, and placement proximity play a decisive role in shaping behaviour.
Improving the food environment was a central objective of the UK’s new National Food Strategy, published last year. Alongside the advertising restrictions, a ban on volume-based price promotions for HFSS products (such as “buy one get one free”) came into force in October 2025.
By contrast, it remains unclear whether the measures proposed in the EU’s Safe Hearts Plan will be sufficient to meaningfully transform Europe’s food environment. Among the flagship initiatives is the creation of a new food processing assessment system, intended to inform consumers about the level of processing in their food – reflecting the assumption that more or better information leads to healthier choices. However, growing evidence suggests that informational measures alone have limited impact.
The plan also hints at potential fiscal measures, such as taxes on HFSS or ultra-processed food. The UK’s Soft Drinks Industry Levy demonstrates the potential effectiveness of such an approach, having driven the removal of nearly half the sugar from shop-bought soft drinks. Replicating this success at EU level, however, would be politically and technically challenging.
A decisive moment
The obesity crisis in the UK and Europe has only continued to grow, and with it, its human and economic cost. With child obesity projected to worsen across 90% of the UK, policymakers are aware that time for tinkering around the edges is over, and that turning the tide will require bold action.
As the UK’s advertising restrictions take effect, their impact on consumer behaviour and business practices will be closely scrutinised. At the same time, as the EU begins to shape its own approach to food advertising, this represents a critical moment for stakeholders to engage and influence how future food marketing policies are designed to protect public health.
Experts in effecting change
The Whitehouse team are expert political consultants providing public affairs, PR advice, and political analysis to a wide range of clients in the health and nutrition sectors across the European Union and beyond.
For more information, please contact our Chair, Chris Whitehouse, at chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com.
