TY - JOUR T1 - Advertising, obesity and child health: the case of Spain JF - BMJ Paediatrics Open JO - BMJ Paediatrics Open DO - 10.1136/bmjpo-2022-001482 VL - 6 IS - 1 SP - e001482 AU - S F Gómez AU - Luis Rajmil Y1 - 2022/06/01 UR - http://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/6/1/e001482.abstract N2 - Childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity represent one of the most important health risks worldwide. Despite the measures adopted to control these conditions, Spain is one of the European and worldwide countries with the highest prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity. Four out of ten schoolchildren (6 to 9 years old) are either overweight or obese, with the former more prevalent in girls and the latter more prevalent in boys.1In Spain, a new bill has recently been proposed to regulate the advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages aimed at children under 16 years old.2Obesity has a multicausal origin related to social determinants, structural environments and lifestyles. Among the social determinants, family income, maternal educational level and family’s social class are the most relevant. The obesity rate is twice as high (23.2%) for those children (4–14 years old) coming from low-income families than for those living in high-income families (11.9%). In Spain, the epidemic is more frequent in schools located in districts with greater child poverty. Despite several interventions promoted at different levels, between 2011 and 2019, it has only been possible to reduce excess weight by 3.9% in those aged 6–9 years, which has decreased from 44.5% to 40.6%.1 The decline is mainly due to fewer overweight (but not obese) children. This slight achievement could be associated to programmes addressed specifically at this age group, the majority of them integrated in a national strategy named NAOS (Nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention).1 The 2019 situation may have deteriorated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.Obesity in children can have significant repercussions in adulthood. In addition to this, it is associated with a shorter life expectancy and quality of life deterioration along the life course.An obesogenic environment promotes excess weight gain in the … ER -