Statement | Description |
Anticipation | Food and drink companies foresee the introduction of the regulations,* and possibly other related legislation for example, volume and location price promotion. |
Availability of HFSS products | Availability of all HFSS foods and beverages, both within and outside the scope of the regulations.* in physical and online shops. |
Bodyweight | In terms of BMI, overweight or obesity status. |
Calorie consumption | Total energy intake of individuals. |
Child purchasing requests for HFSS products | Degree to which children make purchasing requests to caregivers for all HFSS products, both within and outside the scope of the regulations.* |
Commercial food system | Interdependent networks of commercial entities involved in agriculture and fisheries, food processing and production, storage and distribution, wholesaling and retailing, and preparation and marketing of raw, processed and ready to eat foods.21 |
Company engagement with health issues | Degree to which food and beverage companies orientate their business around public health goals. |
Company profitability | A company’s ability to make profit. |
Consumption of regulated HFSS products | Individual’s intake of foods and beverages within the scope of the regulations.* |
Consumption of unregulated products | Individual’s intake of foods and beverages that are not within the scope of the regulations.* |
Definitions | Information used to define or enforce the regulation,* including the UK Nutrient Profiling Model and the food categories from the Sugar Reduction Strategy. Importantly, the regulations* cover a group of foods that is different from those covered by other UK dietary public health regulations. Enforcement is based on information provided by companies. |
Demand for regulated HFSS products | Public desire to purchase or consume foods and beverages within the scope of the regulations.* |
Demand for unregulated products | Public desire to purchase or consume foods and beverages outside of the scope of the regulations.* |
Digital surveillance | Digital data collated by website to inform regulation* enforcement. |
Employment | Number of people employed in the commercial food system. |
Exposure to advertising for unregulated products | Exposure† to adverts for products outside of the scope of the regulations. For foods and beverages, this could be HFSS products within companies’ portfolios that are outside of the scope of the regulations, healthier products (eg, fruit and vegetables), or food delivery companies. Also includes non-food and beverage products and services, but not clear what health impacts they might have. |
Exposure to advertising for regulated HFSS products | Exposure† to advertising for food and beverages within the scope of the regulations.* |
Exposure to unregulated marketing of HFSS products | Exposure† to advertising for all HFSS products on media that are outside of the scope of the regulations.* Includes offline advertising (eg, print media), forms of marketing online that are exempt from the regulations (eg, in owned media), sponsorship, brand advertising and creative modes of marketing that are hard to capture with regulation. |
Health | Overall health, including and beyond bodyweight and NCDs. |
Lobbying against further interventions | Activities undertaken by, or on behalf of, food and beverage companies to resist further policy or regulations. |
Market share | The size of the total market held by a company. Few companies that each hold a large market share creates a concentrated market. |
Portion size | Size of food and beverage products in grams or calories, or recommended portion size. |
Price | Price of food and beverage products, including price discounts. |
Product innovation for unregulated products | Developing new products that are outside of the scope of the regulations,* or reformulating existing products so they are no longer within the scope of the regulations. Could include reformulation using artificial ingredients or developing for example, saltier products that are currently an exempt category. Some categories of products are easier to change than others, and some companies are better able to respond in this way than others. |
Public awareness | Degree of public awareness of both the regulations* and the problems they are trying to address. |
Public support | Degree of public support for the regulations.* |
Purchases of regulated HFSS products | Sales (from company perspective) or purchases (from individual perspective) of food and beverage products within the scope of the regulations.* |
Purchases of unregulated products | Sales (from company perspective) or purchases (from individual perspective) of food and beverage products outside of the scope of the regulations.* |
Regulatory and political landscape | Wider landscape of regulation and policy, including others relating to marketing (eg, location and volume price regulations) and COVID-19. The degree to which the regulations* harmonise with the wider political and regulatory landscape. |
Regulatory precedent | Implementation of the regulations* serves as precedent for any future regulation. |
Risk of diet-related NCDs | Risk of developing NCDs influenced by dietary behaviours. |
Social norms around food | Implicit or explicit beliefs, attitudes, or behaviours about eating, at both an individual and family level. |
Society | The wider social system in which the food system is embedded. |
Societal shifts | Exposure† to advertising affects social norms and may contribute to societal changes in consumerism and culture. |
*The regulations apply to online and TV advertising for a subset of HFSS products, defined by the 2004/2005 UK Nutrient Profiling Model and within particular categories from the Sugar Reduction Strategy. This means there are HFSS products (unregulated HFSS) and non-HFSS products outside of the scope of the regulations.
†Exposure is a function of advertising prevalence, but is also dependent on individual-level factors (eg, frequency of media use).
BMI, body mass index; HFSS, high fat, salt and sugar; NCDs, non-communicable diseases.