#52 Don’t be Fooled

Food marketing is full of clever tricks designed to drive our purchases, especially of ultra-processed “foods”, often at the expense of our health. 

I say “foods” but what I mean really is Chris Van Tulleken’s term of “edible substances”.

Let’s not be naive, BIG food is BIG business and behind every product there’s a profit margin seeking to be gained.

Behind every good sales tactic, there’s great marketing. My aim today is to make you a little more aware of some of their sneaky tricks

What You Should Know

Brands use misleading claims such as emphasising fruit content, added protein, or whole grains to market products that are actually high in added sugars, refined starches, and palm oil. 

Labels such as “good source of protein” or “contains real fruit” often disguise the unhealthy profile of the product, which can contain more artificial ingredients or sugar than the claimed healthy component.

Common tactics include:

• The classic: shelving high sugar items at children’s eye level and using cartoon characters or bright packaging to attract attention.

• The manipulator: emphasising convenience, palatability, and fun to make ultra-processed snacks appear like nourishing food choices.

• The sniper: leveraging digital marketing such as social media, gaming, and livestreaming to reach targeted consumers with persuasive content at more vulnerable times of the day.

Check out this video with 16million views. I love showing this to my clients. Some of this might shock you…

What to do next

To see past marketing claims on packaging, focus on the ingredients list hidden round the back rather than front-of-pack headlines like “high in fibre” or “contains real fruit,” which can be misleading. 

Think like a detective. Start smelling a rat. 🤥🐀

• Scan for added sugars (such as glucose, fructose or syrups), refined grains, and long lists of unfamiliar additives

• Aim for products with minimal (and recognisable) ingredients. 

• Check the order: items listed first are present in the highest amounts, so if sugar or palm oil is in the first 3-5 listed, the product is likely to be less healthy. 

• Choose foods with whole ingredients: such as oats, nuts, seeds, fruit or vegetables as top entries, and compare brands for lower salt and saturated fat. 

• Refine your basket by seeking out fewer ultra-processed foods and always sceptically review claims; a trusted nutritional profile is found on the back, not the bold slogans at the front.

When checking nutritional values on food products, UK guidelines suggest a food is considered:

high in fat if it contains more than 17.5g per 100g, 

high in saturated fat if over 5g per 100g, 

high in sugars if above 22.5g per 100g,

high in salt if over 1.5g per 100g. 

For carbohydrates “high” is less often defined, but products with more than 15g per 100g tend to be considered rich in carb content. 

Protein is considered “high” if a food supplies at least 10–15g per serving. 

For healthier choices, look for the traffic lights on the front of the packet, but don’t stop there (remember our Diet Coke chat in my last newsletter? It has 4 green lights! 🟢🟢🟢🟢. You should read the ingredients list too and follow the tips from above.

The Evidence: What Research shows us about UPF

You’ll not be surprised by this.

A meta-analysis published in 2025 demonstrated a significant impact of food marketing on the increased choice and consumption of unhealthy foods among both children and adults (PMID: 40518855). 

Exposure to ultra-processed products has been robustly linked to higher risks of cardiometabolic diseases, mental disorders, and increased mortality (PMID: 38418082, PMID: 39267249, PMID: 385078476).

Key studies:

• "Food marketing, eating and health outcomes in children and adults" (PMID: 40518855): Significant impact on unhealthy food choices and consumption.

• "Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes" (PMID: 38418082).

• "Ultra-processed foods cause weight gain and increased energy intake associated with reduced chewing frequency" (PMID: 39267249).

• "Association of ultra-processed food consumption with all cause and cause specific mortality" (PMID: 385078476).

Governments Are Finally Responding

Many nations have recognised the dangers posed by unchecked food marketing. 

🇨🇱 Chile, for instance, enacted comprehensive laws (since 2016) that ban the advertising of high sugar, salt, and fat foods on children’s media and even restrict their sale in schools. The legislation also prohibits the use of child-directed appeals such as cartoons, games, and toys in adverts. 

Television bans between 6am and 10pm, as well as phased tightening of thresholds for what counts as unhealthy, resulted in over a 70% drop in exposure to junk food ads for children.

This has all led to measurable improvements in public health—households now purchase fewer high-sugar and high-sodium foods, with a 10–23% reduction in unhealthy calories and products bought.

🇵🇹 Portugal was the first EU country to ban digital marketing of unhealthy foods to children. Early assessments have highlighted compliance and recommend expanding enforcement for broader protection against obesity and chronic disease.

🇬🇧 GET READY !! The UK is set to enforce new restrictions beginning January 2026, banning paid-for online ads for less healthy (high fat, sugar, salt) products and banning TV advertising before 9pm, aiming to reduce children's exposure and encourage healthier choices nationwide. It’s a start…

Remember Life Before the Smoking Ban?

Ever remember the days when it was the norm to smoke? At least one person would light up in a meeting and no-one thought anything of it.

Tobacco marketing was highly pervasive…. until governments finally acted. 

The UK banned most forms of tobacco advertising and promotion in 2002, leading to tobacco companies shifting to indirect marketing techniques, such as packaging and retailer incentives paying for prominent displays, which increased visibility and sales, especially at points of sale. 

Laws now mandate covering up product displays and banning visible adverts. Health warnings are now also applied. Could the same happen one day in the food industry?

What Needs to Happen

The playbook for ultra-processed food marketing simply mirrors the tactics that once sustained tobacco sales—relentless advertising, child-focused campaigns, and strategic placement. 

Cigarettes in meetings have been replaced by croissants and donuts.

There’s now a mountain of evidence linking ultra-processed food exposure to poor health outcomes, and a detrimental impact on human performance - so why do we provide it in our “High-Performance Cultures” we’re so proud to boast about?

I hope UPF goes the way the smoking has done and we see dramatic change over the next decade.

Let’s start by raising our own awareness and make our own decisions on what makes the cut to be in our shopping baskets.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this and it has made you think. If so, I’m very pleased.

I’m Jonny, a National Board Certified Health Coach and Member of the UKIHCA

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