On 5 January 2026, the United Kingdom rolled out what its government calls a “world-leading action”  banning junk food advertising on daytime television and across online platforms. A bold move aimed at protecting children from being bombarded with marketing for foods high in fat, sugar, and salt in an attempt to address the troubling rise in childhood obesity. The move, according to officials, could remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets each year and help reduce the number of children living with obesity by around 20 000, an outcome delivering roughly £2 billion (around R46 billion) in long-term health benefits.  

South Africa faces similarly worrying trends. As exposure to the marketing of ultra-processed foods increases, the percentage of overweight children in South Africa rose from 9% in 2000 to 21% in 2022 (REF: https://www.unicef.org/southafrica/press-releases/obesity-exceeds-underweight-first-time-among-school-age-children-and-adolescents),. Perhaps more concerning is the rate of increase in obesity for children under 5 years in South Africa: an increase from 13% in 2016 to 23% in 2024 (REF: unicef). These changes are accompanied by diet-related diseases like type 2 diabetes, which are showing notable increases amongst younger populations. Recent reports highlight that ultra-processed and fast foods are shaping children’s diets through unhealthy food environments, rather than personal choice. These products dominate shops and schools, while digital marketing gives the food and beverage industry powerful access to young audiences.  Yet, marketing restrictions here remain limited compared with regulatory examples overseas. The UK move raises a serious question: why aren’t we doing the same in South Africa?

South Africa’s food environment is a hard-to-ignore reality: ultra-processed snacks and drinks are cheap, plentiful, and marketed aggressively, while many families lack access to education about nutrition and healthy eating. The result? A trend that shows obesity exceeding underweight for the first time among school-age children.

At The Noakes Foundation, we want to face challenges head-on – not only by tackling unhealthy food culture and advertising, but also by being active agents of change, specifically when it comes to supporting nutritional literacy among entire communities. Children may be the end consumers of unhealthy food, but they aren’t always the ones buying it. Active change needs to happen at the level of the community.  Through the Eat Better South Africa (EBSA) programme, under-resourced communities are educated on practical nutrition education and support tailored to the realities of South Africans grappling with food insecurity and lifestyle diseases. This approach, which focuses on real food, reducing sugar and highly processed foods, and empowering participants with food-choice knowledge, is exactly the kind of work needed alongside broader policy reforms.

But education alone isn’t enough. The UK’s ban is a policy measure that acknowledges the role of advertising in shaping behaviour, something South Africa has yet to tackle with similar urgency. Right now, self-regulation and voluntary pledges called the South African Marketing to Children pledge signed by giants in the FMCG industry, such as Pioneer Food,s Tiger Brands, and Unilever, to name a few, have proven insufficient; studies show that exposure to unhealthy food ads remains high, especially among children. (REF:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8067636/#:~:text=In%20South%20Africa%2C%20the%20number,i.e.%2C%20self%2Dregulation).)

 There is still a lot of work that needs to be done, but there has been progress in that the  inclusion of the sugar tax has  made somewhat of an  impact, with it being noted that there has been a decrease in the consumption of sugary dense foods and drinks for the youth of South Africa  (REF: https://www.wits.ac.za/news/sources/health-news/research-news/2023/health-centred-policy-design-are-sugar-taxes-effective.html#:~:text=However%2C%20since%20the%20implementation%20of,trend%20of%20a%20diabetic%20nation.) 

So, here are some important questions we should be asking:

• Should South Africa implement restrictions for how junk food is advertised on TV and online, similar to the UK’s, to protect children’s health and give parents a fighting chance?
• How can policy go beyond sugar taxes?
• What role should civil society play in shaping and advocating for these policies, and what might solutions look like?

Here are some solutions that can be implemented : 

•  Stronger Advertising Regulations: The government must  adopt strict rules that restrict unhealthy food ads during peak children’s viewing times and online content popular with youth, similar to the UK model
• Mandatory, Clear Labels: Front-of-pack warning labels help both parents and children see what’s really in the products they buy.
• Multi-sector Advocacy and Partnerships: NGOs in the nutrition space, academic institutions, and medical and health-centered organisations need to join forces to demand policy change.

At a time when policymakers must recognise that food environments shape choices long before individuals even sit at a dinner table, the conversation around prevention should focus on this aspect. The UK’s move is not just a public health strategy; it’s a statement: children’s health matters more than corporate profit.

South Africa needs to ask a crucial question: 

Are we ready to make that same statement? And if the answer is yes, what are we waiting for?

Read more here: https://www.news24.com/business/economy/uk-starts-ban-on-junk-food-ads-on-daytime-tv-and-online-20260105-0461#google_vignette