Background
The National Child Measurement Programme shows that 26.8% of children aged 2-15 years are living with overweight or obesity in England. The consumption of high-fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) products is associated with various factors, including marketing. Increasing evidence shows that exposure to digital marketing is prominent in young people’s lives and can influence attitudes and consumption patterns. The social media platform offers unique strengths over traditional marketing such as low cost, tailored audience targeting, and engagement opportunities.

Objectives
This study explores young people's awareness and engagement with HFSS product marketing - among other age-restricted products - on social media, and their perceptions of future policy options. 

Methods
The study recruited 11–21-year-olds across the UK in two parts. First, a quantitative survey of 4,049 participants, and second, qualitative self-ethnographies and focus groups with 46 and 43 participants, respectively. The survey examined social media use, product consumption, marketing awareness, and policy opinions of HFSS products. The qualitative study provided deeper insights into these areas and explored attitudes and awareness in more detail. 

Results
The study found that HFSS product marketing was highly recognised and engaged with by young people on social media. Over half of the survey respondents reported seeing HFSS product posts from businesses and influencers online and all participants in the qualitative study spoke of seeing and/or engaging with this content. The qualitative study highlighted the types of HFSS content seen in social media feeds, including restaurant posts and sponsored food reviews. Content was often perceived positively for its entertainment value, and several said they felt hungry or tempted after seeing HFSS content. Participants spoke about influencer-generated content being harder to identify as marketing compared to business posts. They expressed doubt about the effectiveness of current regulations; however, participants also generally showed low desire for further restrictions on HFSS product marketing. 

Conclusions
HFSS product marketing was highly prevalent and welcomed by young people on social media. There is a need for stricter online regulation, such as the ban on HFSS advertising online in the UK that came into effect in January 2026. Furthermore,  information about commercial determinants of health and the influence of HFSS products should be adequately communicated to young people.