In the run up to Easter, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) have published renewed advice on the advertising of high fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) products.  

The advice, published under the banner ‘Advice to make your HFSS ads egg-cel this Easter’ reiterates tips to bear in mind when marketing HFSS products including understanding what a HFSS ad is, the restrictions in place and several examples of challenges. 

It also highlights that even the use of branding (i.e. a logo, colour, strapline) generally associated with an HFSS food could have the effect of promoting a HFSS product.   

You can access the advice here 

If you require bespoke advice on non-broadcast ads, you can also send a query to their  Copy Advice team, who will deliver a free response within 24 hours.   

A new World Health Organisation (WHO) study has shown that in 2022, 1 in 8 people globally are now living with obesity. 

The study, entitled ‘Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022’ highlighted that worldwide obesity among adults has more than doubled since 1990 and 43% of adults were overweight in 2022. Even more worrying is the revelation that obesity and has quadrupled among children and adolescents (5 to 19 years of age). 

The study also shows that even though the rates of undernutrition have dropped, it is still a public health challenge in many places, particularly in South-East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Undernutrition is responsible for half of the deaths of children under 5 and obesity can cause noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and some cancers. 

You can read the study in the Lancet here  

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) have recently published their 23rd annual report, covering the calendar year 2023. 

SACN advises the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) and other UK government organisations on nutrition and related health matters. Their advice covers the scientific aspects of nutrition and health with specific reference to: 

• nutrient intakes and nutritional status of the population 
• nutrient content of individual foods and advice on individual nutrients and diet as a whole, including the definition of a balanced diet 
• monitoring and surveillance of the above aspects 
• nutritional issues which affect wider public health policy issues including conditions where nutritional status is one of a number of risk factors (such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, oral health, osteoporosis, and obesity) 
• research requirements for the above 

This latest report provides a summary of the work of SACN and its working groups and subgroups, along with details of members’ declarations of interest and their biographies. 

Amongst the work undertaken, July 2023 saw the publication of the ‘SACN statement on processed foods and health’. SACN concluded that the association between higher consumption of (ultra-) processed foods and adverse health outcomes is concerning – however, limitations in the available evidence mean that it is unclear whether these foods are inherently unhealthy due to processing or because a large majority of processed foods are high in calories, saturated fat, salt and/or sugar.  

Given SACN’s concerns, the committee has added the topic of processed foods to its watching brief and will consider it at the next horizon scan meeting in June 2024. We will keep you updated. 

You can access the annual report here