TfL junk food ad ban has helped Londoners shop more healthily – study

TfL’s policy encompasses the underground, overground, buses, Docklands Light Railway, taxis and on some roadside advertising sites. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

A ban on junk food advertising by Transport for London has contributed to a 1,000 calorie decrease in unhealthy purchases in people’s weekly shopping, a study has estimated.

The biggest effects were seen for chocolate and confectionery with an almost 20% decrease, or 317.9 calories, in average weekly household purchases of energy from these products.