Junk food ads work on kids in minutes

JUST five minutes of exposure to junk food advertising leads to children eating significantly more calories during the day - even if the ads do not feature any actual food products, research reveals.

- By Hanna Geissler

Youngsters who watched, listened to or looked at adverts for foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt typically consumed around 130 more calories, equivalent to two slices of bread.

The effect was the same for content featuring specific food products or with only branding, such as logos for companies like McDonald's, KFC and Burger King.

Experts warned that the study exposed a serious loophole in the Government's planned ban on junk food TV adverts before 9pm, which comes into force in October, as branding is expected to be exempt.