Katie Price’s Instagram advertisement promoting a low-calorie diet for The Skinny Food Co. has been banned by the advertising watchdog.
The video, shared last August, featured the former glamour model detailing her meals totalling only 755 calories per day. The caption for the video said: “All of this was only 755 calories and helping me stay in a calorie deficit to shift some extra pounds when needed.”
Despite the health service recommending around 2,000 calories daily for women and 2,500 for men, Price showcased her day starting with porridge and zero-calorie syrup coffee.
Her lunch was a wrap with zero-calorie garlic mayonnaise sauce, while dinner featured a low-calorie chicken tikka curry. The video concluded with Price enjoying low-calorie chocolate malt balls as a post-dinner snack. She also mentioned her children also enjoyed the products.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints that the advert irresponsibly promoted a low-calorie diet. In the UK, ads for diets below 800 calories must be short-term and advise users to seek medical advice. However, the ASA found the ad lacked explicit instructions on short-term use or the necessity of medical advice.
Furthermore, a complaint noted the post wasn’t obviously marked as an advert. The Skinny Food Co. argued that the hashtag #ad was included, but the ASA found it insufficiently prominent. It instructed both the company and Katie Price to ensure future adverts were clearly identifiable as marketing communications.
In addition to this, the ASA found the advert made specific health claims unauthorised by the UK’s nutrition and health claims register, violating rules.
Price agreed to remove the advert, stating she followed a calorie deficit approach, commonly practiced in the UK. She requested further guidance on ensuring compliance with future posts.
The ASA added: We concluded that the ad irresponsibly promoted a diet that fell below 800 kcal a day. We also told them to ensure that their ads did not irresponsibly promote diets that fell below 800 kcal a day, and to only make weight loss or weight maintenance claims for foods if the claim was authorised on the Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims Register and the foods met the associated conditions of use.”
