The UK Department of Health has been wasting taxpayers' money on ridiculous advertisements that imply home-cooked fairy cakes may lead to childhood obesity and early death.

In the first-ever study of food adverts in UK magazines, researchers found them filled with sugary, salt-filled options often contradicting the health messages the articles were trying to put across.

Obese and overweight children increase their food intake by more than 100% after watching food advertisements on television; a study by the University of Liverpool psychologists has shown.