Readers have been having their say on whether or not fast-food advert bans will have an impact on obesity.

The government recently announced that it is planning to implement ban on all adverts that promote fast food before 9pm.

Lee Butterworth, who owns Extreme Fitness Gym’s in Workington and Carlisle, thinks more education is needed to help curb an unhealthy lifestyle.

The popular gym owner said that although adverts must have some affect with the huge sums of money companies pour in to them, society needs to look at different ways to address the problem.

Products such as chocolate, burgers, soft drinks, cakes, sweets, and pizza would all be banned from TV as part of the scheme, with the aim of tackling obesity — which now affects more than a quarter of all UK adults.

From the end of next year, they will only be allowed to be shown between the hours of 9pm and 5.30am.

The government has found that obesity issues often begin in childhood and affect the poorest in society.

Here’s what you, the readers, had to say.

Gemma Gem said: “Proper education on nutrition and exercise is needed, because this is a bigger pandemic than COVID.

“I’ve been there myself and the only way you turn it around is education.”

Sarah Terry agreed, saying: “We get told all the time that such and such a food is bad for us, but so many of the cheapest (and often tastiest!) options are the most unhealthy.

“Physical activity is low priority in schools, and it’s really hard to develop a habit of regular exercise if you get a ton of schoolwork and have to then add it on at the end of the day.

“If you’ve been inactive for years, it’s so hard to find that motivation to change things, and simply banning ads is not the solution.”