Norway’s progress on restricting unhealthy food marketing to children offers lessons for Europe

A seminar co-hosted by the Norwegian Directorate of Health and the JA PreventNCD brought together policymakers, researchers, youth representatives and public health stakeholders to reflect on Norway’s progress in regulating the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children. The event highlighted an important national milestone and its relevance for countries across Europe facing similar public health challenges.

For JA PreventNCD, the seminar also showed why Norway’s experience matters beyond its borders. The long road towards stronger regulation, the questions now emerging around implementation and monitoring, and the need for international cooperation all point to the value of shared learning at European level.

One of the clearest messages from the seminar was that Norway’s progress has been the result of sustained effort over many years. In his presentation, From global recommendations to comprehensive national regulations – a 20-years long journey, Professor Knut-Inge Klepp, Special Adviser at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and Scientific Coordinator of JA PreventNCD, reflected on the path from early recommendations to comprehensive regulation.

The Norwegian experience was presented as an example of how scientific evidence and public health recommendations can, over time, be translated into concrete policy. Speakers also stressed that this kind of progress requires patience, technical expertise and long-term political commitment.

Opening the event, Linda Granlund, Director General at the Norwegian Directorate of Health in Norway and Project Coordinator of JA PreventNCD, together with Professor Knut-Inge Klepp, framed the seminar as both a moment to recognise progress and an opportunity to discuss what comes next.

Usman Ahmad Mushtaq, State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Health, also addressed the seminar and emphasised that at its core, the main intention behind the marketing ban is to protect children’s interests. He stressed that children should be able to grow up in a food environment that supports health, rather than one shaped by increasing commercial pressures, which has intensified over the past decades. Additionally, he highlighted the importance of continuing to build on this progress in the years ahead.

A central theme throughout the afternoon was the changing nature of food marketing, especially in digital spaces. Erica Wie Dia, Senior Adviser at the Norwegian Directorate of Health, presented the scope and content of the new regulations and outlined what the ban covers in practice.

Her presentation prompted several questions from participants, particularly around implementation and enforcement. A recurring concern was how to monitor compliance in a digital environment where commercial pressure is no longer limited to traditional advertising. Participants pointed to the growing complexity of influencer marketing, social media content and other blurred forms of promotion that reach children and young people online.

The discussion made clear that passing legislation is only one part of the work. Monitoring and enforcement will be essential, especially as digital marketing practices continue to evolve rapidly.

Arnfinn Helleve, Head of Research Centre at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and leader of the work on regulation and taxation in JA PreventNCD, addressed this from an evaluation perspective in his presentation on the impact of the food marketing ban. His contribution underlined another key point from the seminar: evaluating the effects of regulation is essential, both to understand impact and to guide future policymaking.

The seminar’s session on youth and consumer perspectives on harmful digital marketing brought an important additional dimension to the discussion.

Representatives from Bite Back UK, Save the Children Youth Norway, the Norwegian Consumer Council and the JA PreventNCD Youth Advisory Group reflected on how unhealthy food marketing affects children and young people in practice. Speaking on behalf of the Youth Advisory Group, Silvia Grothe stressed that food is the foundation of life, yet children and young people are exposed every day to marketing messages that make unhealthy food look attractive, fun and normal.

Her contribution helped bring the discussion to its core purpose. While legislation and enforcement are necessarily complex, the underlying objective is simple: to better protect children from commercial pressures that can harm their health and wellbeing.

This was also reflected in the closing remarks, where Professor Knut-Inge Klepp highlighted the value of youth involvement and noted how clearly young people communicate what is at stake.

The seminar placed Norway’s achievement firmly in a wider European context. In the session From evidence to action, Professor Emma Boyland, Chair of Food Marketing and Child Health at the University of Liverpool, shared experiences from the United Kingdom and helped broaden the discussion to common challenges across countries.

In the reflections session that followed, Maria João Gregório, co-lead of the work on regulation and taxation in JA PreventNCD from Portugal’s Directorate-General of Health, congratulated Norway on what she described as a very significant milestone not only for Norway, but for Europe as a whole. She highlighted Norway’s pioneering role in protecting children from harmful food marketing and stressed that this example shows how evidence can be translated into public health policy.

At the same time, she pointed to the growing complexity of the food marketing ecosystem, particularly across social media and digital platforms. This, she noted, makes cross-sector collaboration increasingly important, both for implementation and for ongoing monitoring.

She also underlined the relevance of this work to JA PreventNCD’s broader mission. The Joint Action helps strengthen the evidence base for policymaking, supports countries in implementing regulatory measures, and promotes better systems for monitoring harmful marketing practices. In that context, Norway’s experience offers practical lessons for other countries working in the same direction.

Kremlin Wickramasinghe, Regional Adviser for Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at WHO/Europe, also congratulated Norway and emphasised the importance of its long-term approach. He noted that Norway’s experience can provide useful lessons for other countries, particularly when it comes to the challenges that arise once legislation moves into implementation.

As coordinator of JA PreventNCD, Norway is helping create space for exactly this kind of exchange. The seminar showed how national progress can contribute to wider European learning and how one country’s experience can help inform action in others.

A recurring message was that international collaboration is essential. Many countries are grappling with similar questions around legislative models, enforcement, digital marketing and how to respond to criticism or doubt from industry actors. Sharing lessons learned can help countries move faster and with greater confidence.

The event also highlighted the potential to do more at both national and EU level. While WHO has played an important role in shaping this field, participants noted that there is room for stronger and more coordinated action across Europe. JA PreventNCD can help support that progress by connecting evidence, policy and implementation across countries.

In the closing remarks, Linda Granlund thanked speakers and participants for the dialogue and exchange across countries, noting that the long journey had been worth it. Professor Knut-Inge Klepp closed by reflecting that although Norway is a small country with its own specific context, many of the issues discussed resonate far beyond its borders.

The seminar made one point especially clear. Norway’s regulation is not only a national achievement, but also an important example for Europe. It shows that long-term public health action is possible, that evidence can support policy, and that cooperation across countries is vital when addressing shared challenges.

For JA PreventNCD, this is exactly the kind of exchange that can help build momentum. By sharing experience, strengthening the evidence base and supporting countries working on similar issues, the Joint Action can help turn national progress into broader European action to protect children from harmful food marketing.