Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of calories per day by which a person's diet will be reduced as a result of the restrictions proposed by the Government on (a) foods high in fat, salt or sugar, (b) broadcast advertising of those foods and (c) online advertising of those foods.

Obesity is a complex problem caused by many different factors to which there is no single solution. We know that regular overconsumption of a relatively small number of calories leads to individuals becoming overweight or obese. Taking action to help reduce this excess calorie consumption will decrease obesity prevalence and obesity related ill health over time. “Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives” takes forward a wide range of measures that all contribute towards this goal, including by reshaping the food environment, providing people with a healthier choice and encouraging them to take it.

The Government published its response to the 2019 consultation ‘Introducing further advertising restriction on TV and online for products high in fat, sugar and salt’ and the 2020 consultation ‘Introducing a total online advertising restriction for products high in fat, sugar and salt’ on 24 June, confirming we will introduce a 9pm TV watershed for high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) product advertising, as well as a restriction of paid-for HFSS advertising online. We have estimated the restrictions could remove up to 7.2 billion calories from children’s diets per year in the United Kingdom which, over the coming years, could reduce the number of obese children by more than 20,000.