• noncommunicable diseases
• obesity
• social responsibility
• advertising

Sport has a history of seeking commercial funding to support its growing overheads, and big food and beverage corporations have been willing to oblige. For example, Coca-Cola has been associated with the Olympics since at least 1928. Sponsoring companies often claim that their sponsorship campaigns are not aimed at children and therefore should not be subject to scrutiny, but the global television (TV) audience that mega events such as the Olympics and sports like football achieve (reflecting fan bases of individuals across the lifespan) renders this argument barely credible. Because of the types of products most promoted through sport (foods and beverages high in fats, sugars and/or salt), health academics are now questioning the potential health impact of these sponsorships in professional sport.1 Even at grass roots and junior sport, one study in Australia found that 9 in 10 companies sponsoring children’s sports development were promoting unhealthy food.2 The detrimental effects of unhealthy food and beverage marketing on children’s diets are well documented,3 and as a result, policies have been put in place in the UK and other nations to try to restrict children’s exposure to such marketing via TV and the internet. Here, we suggest that sports sponsorship by the food and drink industry warrants similar regulatory attention.

Kellogg’s were long associated with swimming, a sport that traditionally receives much less income than football (whether American Football or association football), baseball or cricket. Kellogg’s relationship with the English ASA (formerly the Amateur Swimming Association rebranded as Swim England in 2017) dates back to 1997. The Kellogg’s logo was reproduced on millions of badges and certificates awarded to …