Liverpool City Council is gearing up to ban junk food ads across its billboards as part of a fresh campaign to combat the rising levels of obesity in the city.
The move follows in the footsteps of other local councils, including Sefton, which implemented a similar ban five months ago.
The council’s decision is backed up by recent health reports suggesting that 63% of adults in Liverpool are overweight or obese, with one in three children aged 11 following suit. By 2040, obesity is expected to be the second biggest health concern for the city’s younger population.
There are growing national calls to tighten junk food advertising regulations. Youth activists from Bite Back recently took over billboard space at Westfield White City in an attempt to prevent junk food giants from using the space. A few councils have already implemented similar changes, including the London boroughs of Haringey, Southwark, Barnsley and Greenwich, as well as Bristol and Luton.
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Liverpool City Council will introduce further restrictions on advertising HFSS (high fat, sugar, salt) products across council-owned properties – from public transport to outdoor billboards.
The council has stressed that the new policy aims to balance commercial interests with the need to protect public health, particularly in the city’s more deprived communities where unhealthy food choices are prevalent.
The city’s proposed ban comes in the context of broader discussions about advertising’s role in public health.
Last month, a panel of experts from the University of Liverpool addressed the House of Lords’ Food, Diet, and Obesity Committee, calling for stricter regulations on junk food advertising and clearer government-enforced guidelines.
