Changes in household food and drink purchases following restrictions on the advertisement of high fat, salt, and sugar products across the Transport for London network: A controlled interrupted time series analysis

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003915
• Publication Date: 2022-02-17T18:26:15Z
• Authors: Amy Yau; Nicolas Berger; Cherry Law; Laura Cornelsen; Robert Greener; Jean Adams; Emma J. Boyland; Thomas Burgoine; Frank de Vocht; Matt Egan; Vanessa Er; Amelia A. Lake; Karen Lock; Oliver Mytton; Mark Petticrew; Claire Thompson; Martin White; Steven Cummins
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Sodium Chloride, Dietary/economics; Dietary Sugars; Economics; Sodium Chloride; Advertising/economics; Dietary/economics; 0302 clinical medicine; Advertising; London; 11. Sustainability; 2. Zero hunger; Interrupted Time Series Analysis/methods; R; FOS: Social sciences; Economics/legislation & jurisprudence; Middle Aged; 3. Good health; Medicine; Female; Research Article; Adult; 330; 610; Diet, High-Fat; Social sciences; 12. Responsible consumption; Beverages; 03 medical and health sciences; Humans; Sodium Chloride, Dietary; Aged; Dietary Fats/economics; Medicine and health sciences; Biology and life sciences; Interrupted Time Series Analysis; Diet, High-Fat/economics; Consumer Behavior; High-Fat/economics; Dietary Sugars/economics; Dietary Fats; Diet; Consumer Behavior/economics; Sugars; Beverages/economics; Sugars/economics

Restricting the advertisement of products with high fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) content has been recommended as a policy tool to improve diet tackle obesity, but impact on HFSS purchasing is unknown. This study aimed evaluate advertising restrictions, implemented across London (UK) transport network in February 2019, purchases.Over 5 million take-home food drink purchases were recorded by 1,970 households (London [intervention], n = 977; North England [control], 993) randomly selected from Kantar Fast Moving Consumer Goods panel. The intervention control samples similar household characteristics had small differences main shopper sex, socioeconomic position, body mass index. Using controlled interrupted time series design, we estimated average weekly energy nutrients post-intervention period (44 weeks) compared counterfactual constructed pre-intervention (36 series. Energy purchased was 6.7% (1,001.0 kcal, 95% CI 456.0 1,546.0) lower among counterfactual. Relative reductions fat (57.9 g, 22.1 93.7), saturated (26.4 12.4 40.4), (80.7 41.4 120.1) also observed. chocolate confectionery 19.4% (317.9 200.0 435.8) than for counterfactual, corresponding relative (13.1 7.5 18.8), (8.7 5.7 11.7), (41.4 27.4 55.4), salt (0.2 0.1 0.2) confectionery. are context secular increases both areas, so associated attenuated growth rather absolute reduction purchases. Study limitations include lack out-of-home our analyses not being able assess sustainability observed changes beyond 44 weeks.This finds an association between implementation restrictions outdoor energy, sugar, products. These findings provide support policies that restrict reduce