Nutritional Impact of Child-Directed TV Food Advertising Regulation: Are We Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic?

The advertising of foods high in saturated fat, sodium, or sugar (HFSS) has garnered particular attention. Little is known about the impact of regulations on household expenditures measured in terms of the key causes of diet-related maladies (overconsumption of calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar). Using the UK Living Costs and Food Survey from 2001 to 2012, and households with children 16 years old or under as a control group, we found that the self-regulation of advertising has a significant impact on sugar expenditure of 5.91 grams per capita/day. Co-regulation leads to a larger sugar expenditure reduction, in addition to a sodium reduction of 0.12 grams per capita/day and, in some cases, saturated fat reduction. Calorie expenditure is not significantly affected by either self-regulation or co-regulation, which leaves the question of whether children are being protected by TV advertising regulations.