Restricting advertising of high fat, salt and sugar foods and drinks on the Transport for London network: evaluation of a natural experiment

Restricting advertising of high fat, salt and sugar foods and drinks on public transport networks in London: evaluation of a natural experiment to assess impacts on awareness and purchasing of foods high in salt, fat and sugar

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN19928803

Enrollment

1400

Registered

2019-11-04

Start date

2019-02-08

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2022-03-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Children’s food preferences, purchasing requests, purchases and consumption Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine

Interventions

The Mayor of London has implemented restrictions on the advertising of high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) foods and beverages across the TfL estate. These restrictions prevent the advertising of products

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: KWP HFSS food and beverage purchase and Surveys on perception and awareness of HFSS: 1. Aged 18 and over. 2. Part of the Kantar Worldpanel household consumer panel. Interviews: Key stakeholders, and decision-makers in the GLA and TfL, and commercial/corporate stakeholders in the food and marketing industry. Focus group: 1. Aged 18 and over. 2. Living and working in London.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: N/A

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
1. Changes in exposure to HFSS food and beverage advertising at the food and beverage category level is measured using site-level objective advertising data at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention. 2. Changes in adult-reported perceptions and awareness of HFSS food and beverages amongst adults and children is measured using a questionnaire at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention. 3. Changes in household purchases of HFSS foods and beverages at the product category and item level from households is measured using KantarWorldPanel data (product item-level scanner data) at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention.	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Changes in exposure to HFSS food and beverage advertising at the food and beverage category level is measured using site-level objective advertising data at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention. 2. Changes in adult-reported perceptions and awareness of HFSS food and beverages amongst adults and children is measured using a questionnaire at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention. 3. Changes in household purchases of HFSS foods and beverages at the product category and item level from households is measured using KantarWorldPanel data (product item-level scanner data) at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention.

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Substitution effects towards other foods are measured using KantarWorldPanel data at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention. 2. Whether any observed effects in primary outcomes and secondary are moderated by socioeconomic status, education, presence of children and baseline purchasing of HFSS foods (low, medium and high) are measured using KantarWorldPanel data at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention.	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Substitution effects towards other foods are measured using KantarWorldPanel data at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention. 2. Whether any observed effects in primary outcomes and secondary are moderated by socioeconomic status, education, presence of children and baseline purchasing of HFSS foods (low, medium and high) are measured using KantarWorldPanel data at 12 months post-implementation of the intervention.

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Countries

England, United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026