Children ‘bombarded’ online with weight loss ads, claims Dame Rachel de Souza

A new report by the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, warns that young people are being “bombarded” with ads for products that claim to change their appearance – despite many being illegal.

The findings are stark. Some 41% of 13 to 17-year-olds have seen promotions for prescription-only weight loss drugs, while 56% of girls have seen ads for cosmetic procedures like fillers and Botox. These products are strictly age-restricted or illegal for under-18s, yet they remain “unavoidable” in digital spaces.

Dame Rachel described the impact of this content as “immensely damaging” to the self-esteem of a generation. Her report, A Healthy Influence?, found that 78% of children said these ads had a negative impact on how they feel about themselves.

“Extreme and potentially dangerous appearance-changing products are being normalised to children through advertising, influencer culture and online posts,” Dame Rachel said.

“We cannot continue to accept an online world that profits from children’s insecurities and constantly tells them they need to change or must be better.”

Calls for legal reform

The issue extends beyond professional marketing. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently warned social media users that they risk breaking the law by promoting weight-loss jabs via referral links and discount codes. Because these are prescription-only medicines, any public advertisement, even by a customer, is prohibited.

To stop the tide of harmful content, the Commissioner is calling for an end to all social media advertising directed at children. She has proposed amending the Online Safety Act (OSA) to include a “clear duty of care” for platforms to actively prevent these adverts from reaching young users.

While the current Online Safety Act requires tech firms to remove harmful material quickly, critics argue the current framework does not go far enough to address “body stigma content.”

“Urgent action is needed to create an online world that is truly safer by design,” Dame Rachel insisted. Her recommendations include updating Ofcom’s Children’s Code of Practice and strengthening the regulation of online sales for age-restricted products.

The government has responded by launching a national consultation on bolder measures. These include potential bans on social media for Under 16s, as lawmakers acknowledge that the Online Safety Act was only the beginning of a conversation regarding children’s digital wellbeing.