London Mayor Sadiq Khan has banned body shaming adverts on the Tube.
He announced Transport for London would no longer run ads which could cause body confidence issues, particularly among young people, saying the ads could “demean” women and encourage them to conform to unrealistic or unhealthy body shapes.
Protein World’s “Are You Beach Body Ready” campaign stirred debate when they were erected across the London Underground network last year, but Boris Johnson failed to act on the harmful marketing campaign.
The weight-loss ad sparked a protest in Hyde Park as well as a petition on Change.org with more than 70,000 signatures.
Mr Khan said: “As the father of two teenage girls, I am extremely concerned about this kind of advertising which can demean people, particularly women, and make them ashamed of their bodies. It is high time it came to an end.
“Nobody should feel pressurised, while they travel on the Tube or bus, into unrealistic expectations surrounding their bodies and I want to send a clear message to the advertising industry about this.”
