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Children and young people in Liverpool frequently encounter advertisements promoting fast food, sugary drinks, and snacks. Many have reported that these ads trigger feelings of hunger, even when they were not hungry before seeing them. A recent study, commissioned by Liverpool City Council’s Public Health team and carried out by Health Equalities Group, investigates the impact of advertising and the surrounding food environment on the eating choices of children, young people, and their families.
The research included a series of workshops and consultations involving primary school pupils, parents, and Liverpool’s Young Inspectors—youth trained to assess services and represent peer experiences. Participants shared their observations of food advertising encountered during daily journeys, online activities, visits to shops, and dining out. Children frequently mentioned spotting fast-food adverts on buses, at bus stops, billboards, and across social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram, along with television and online games. Healthier food adverts were noted to be far less common. One primary school pupil remarked, “When I see food on ads, I really, really get hungry and I really want to go there, so I beg my mum and dad to go there.” Another added, “They make my mouth water and make my belly grumble because it makes you feel hungry.”
The report also draws on wider studies highlighting that nearly one in four advertisements in Liverpool promote food or drinks high in fat, salt, or sugar, with such marketing especially prevalent in areas experiencing significant social inequalities. Parents pointed out that brightly coloured packaging and popular children’s characters such as Bluey, Peppa Pig, Spider-Man, and Paw Patrol often encourage children to request products without fully understanding their ingredients or taste. Families noted that healthier food options tend to be more expensive, less visible, and harder to find than fast food, snacks, and sugary items, adding to the challenges faced by parents striving to foster healthy eating habits.
Liverpool’s Young Inspectors participated in six workshops where they analyzed their local food landscape, explored advertising strategies, and produced a video and manifesto advocating for change. One young inspector stated, “You don’t really realise how much unhealthy food there is everywhere until you stop and think about it, because it is so normalised.” Their suggestions include stronger regulations on unhealthy food advertising near schools, transport routes, and youth-frequented spaces; making healthier food more affordable through initiatives like subsidized school meals and vouchers; encouraging eateries to highlight healthy choices more prominently and affordably; improving food education and promoting a positive food culture in schools; and ensuring children, young people, and families have a more significant role in decisions affecting their local food environment.
In response, Liverpool City Council implemented a Healthier Food Advertising Policy in 2024 that restricts less healthy food and drink advertisements on council-owned advertising spaces. This approach has been extended by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to include advertising spots on parts of the public transport network. Nevertheless, many advertising locations such as billboards and phone boxes are privately owned and thus beyond local governmental control. The report calls for enhanced national measures to address these gaps.
Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Culture, Councillor Harry Doyle, commented, “Children and young people have told us clearly that junk food advertising is part of their everyday lives. They see it on the way to school, while waiting for a bus and when they go online, and they understand how it can affect what they want to eat. This is not about blaming families or telling people what they should choose. Families are trying to make the best decisions they can, but healthier choices need to be affordable, appealing and easy to find. We have already acted on advertising spaces controlled by the Council, but we cannot address this challenge alone. We will use these findings to strengthen our work with schools, businesses, communities and regional and national partners.” Professor Matthew Ashton, Liverpool City Council’s Director of Public Health, added, “Our surroundings have a powerful effect on our health. When children are repeatedly shown adverts for less healthy food, while healthier choices are less visible and often more expensive, it creates an unfair playing field. This report is particularly important because its findings and recommendations come directly from children, young people and parents. Their experiences must be at the heart of how we create a fairer and healthier Liverpool. We want every child to grow up in an environment that supports their health, rather than one where the most heavily promoted choice is often the least healthy.” Nicola Calder, Food Active Programme Lead at Health Equalities Group, said, “Children, young people and families demonstrated a strong understanding of how advertising, cost and availability influence their food choices. They want a greater voice in shaping their local food environments to make nutritious food more affordable and available and stronger protection from marketing designed to influence what they consume. The young people involved have developed practical recommendations that should now help inform local and national action.”
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