Study reveals scale of junk food advertising in UK’s most deprived areas
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Geographic data science expertise from the University of Liverpool has supported a new study that reveals the widespread presence of junk food advertising in England—with significantly higher levels in the country’s most disadvantaged communities.
Led by Professor Mark Green, from the Department of Geography & Planning, the research was conducted in collaboration with Bite Back, a youth-led activist movement and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The study analysed 859 outdoor adverts on bus stops, billboards, and telephone boxes in four major cities: Liverpool, Southwark (London), Birmingham, and Newcastle upon Tyne.
Key findings:
- 44% (377) of all outdoor adverts captured were for food and drink products.
- One in four promoted unhealthy food and drink.
- Junk food ads appeared six times more frequently per kilometre in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived.
- Of the 333 food and drink-related adverts, 57% promoted products high in fat, sugar and/or salt (HFSS), with fast food brands dominating.
Professor Green, who specialises in health geography, commented: “This study reveals an alarming picture of inequality in food marketing across England. It’s no surprise that children in the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely to be living with obesity when they’re disproportionately targeted with advertising that makes unhealthy food more accessible and appealing.”
In response to the findings, Bite Back partnered with Impact on Urban Health to take direct action—blocking junk food advertising across 365 billboards in London. This intervention is expected to prevent an estimated 14.8 million exposures to unhealthy food marketing.
Bite Back and Impact on Urban Health are now calling on the government to strengthen HFSS advertising restrictions and require food companies to publicly report on the healthiness of their product sales.
Nicki Whiteman, interim Chief Executive Officer, Bite Back said: “Our young activists operate on a tiny fraction of what Big Food has to spend on outdoor advertising but they are making a powerful point with this bold and characteristically courageous campaign to take on the might of the global companies. We are enormously grateful to Impact on Urban Health for supporting our mission and would ask other funders to do the same as David takes on Goliath in this mammoth battle for children’s health.
“The changes we’re calling for are crucial for holding junk food companies accountable for the impact their marketing has on children’s health and shifting the balance of power from industry interests to policies that genuinely prioritise public health.”
Peter Babudu, Executive Director at Impact on Urban Health, said: "We are so proud to support the young people of Bite Back to tell the compelling story about how our children’s health is shaped by the things that surround them—in this case, the powerful marketing tactics that are putting unhealthy food centre stage, particularly in areas of lower average income. By working with incredible partners like Bite Back and others, we can change the story to show the real causes of what is driving food-related illness and show solutions are within reach, creating the conditions for change needed to protect children’s health in the UK."
The full report—“Fuel Us, Don’t Fool Us: Advertising. Are food giants bombarding young people on our streets?”—includes further analysis and policy recommendations and is available here.