Half of food ads in Liverpool are for junk food

The findings are part of a national investigation into how junk food advertising floods the daily lives of young people.

Transcript

00:00A new report led by researchers from the University of Liverpool has revealed that half of all

00:06food and drink adverts in our city's outdoor spaces promote products high in fat, salt

00:11or sugar.

00:12Led by Professor Mark Green from the Department of Geography and Planning, the research was

00:15conducted in collaboration with Bite Back, a youth-led activist movement and funded by

00:20the National Institute for Health and Care Research.

00:23The findings are part of a national investigation into how junk food advertising floods the

00:28daily lives of young people, particularly in areas with high levels of deprivation.

00:33Researchers found that in Liverpool, 50% of all food and drink ads were for high fat,

00:38salt or sugar products.

00:39This advertising was most concentrated in the most deprived areas.

00:43In fact, in Liverpool, not a single advert of any kind was recorded in the least deprived

00:47neighbourhoods.

00:48Analysis showed that in 2024, food and drink companies spent over £400 million on street

00:55advertising. The top ten spenders included McDonalds, KFC, Coca-Cola and Mars.

01:01The study analysed 859 outdoor adverts on bus stops, billboards and telephone boxes in four

01:06major cities, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and London.

01:11Professor Green, who specialises in health geography, commented,

01:15This study reveals an alarming picture of inequality in food marketing across England.

01:20It's no surprise that children in the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely

01:24to be living with obesity when they're disproportionately targeted with advertising that makes unhealthy

01:29food more accessible and appealing.

01:31Bite back and impact on urban health are now calling on the government to strengthen high-fat,

01:37salt or sugar advertising restrictions and require food companies to publicly report on

01:42the healthiness of their product sales.