BACKGROUND Diets with high proportions of foods high in fat, sugar, and/or salt (HFSS) contribute to malnutrition and rising rates of childhood obesity, with effects throughout the life course. Given compelling evidence on the detrimental impact HFSS advertising has on children's diets, the World Health Organization unequivocally supports the adoption of restrictions on HFSS marketing and advertising. In February 2019, the Greater London Authority introduced novel restrictions on HFSS advertising across Transport for London (TfL), one of the most valuable out-of-home advertising estates. In this study, we examined whether and how commercial actors attempted to influence the development of these advertising restrictions. METHODS AND FINDINGS Using requests under the Freedom of Information Act, we obtained industry responses to the London Food Strategy consultation, correspondence between officials and key industry actors, and information on meetings. We used an existing model of corporate political activity, the Policy Dystopia Model, to systematically analyse arguments and activities used to counter the policy. The majority of food and advertising industry consultation respondents opposed the proposed advertising restrictions, many promoting voluntary approaches instead. Industry actors who supported the policy were predominantly smaller businesses. To oppose the policy, industry respondents deployed a range of strategies. They exaggerated potential costs and underplayed potential benefits of the policy, for instance, warning of negative economic consequences and questioning the evidence underlying the proposal. Despite challenging the evidence for the policy, they offered little evidence in support of their own claims. Commercial actors had significant access to the policy process and officials through the consultation and numerous meetings, yet attempted to increase access, for example, in applying to join the London Child Obesity Taskforce and inviting its members to events. They also employed coalition management, engaging directly and through business associations to amplify their arguments. Some advertising industry actors also raised the potential of legal challenges. The key limitation of this study is that our data focused on industry-policymaker interactions; thus, our findings are unable to present a comprehensive picture of political activity. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we identified substantial opposition from food and advertising industry actors to the TfL advertising restrictions. We mapped arguments and activities used to oppose the policy, which might help other public authorities anticipate industry efforts to prevent similar restrictions in HFSS advertising. Given the potential consequences of commercial influence in these kinds of policy spaces, public bodies should consider how they engage with industry actors.

中文翻译：

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伦敦交通局不健康食品广告限制背景下的企业政治活动：定性案例研究。

背景技术 含有高比例高脂肪、高糖和/或高盐 (HFSS) 食物的饮食会导致营养不良和儿童肥胖率上升，并在整个生命过程中产生影响。鉴于令人信服的证据表明 HFSS 广告对儿童饮食的不利影响，世界卫生组织明确支持对 HFSS 营销和广告采取限制措施。2019 年 2 月，大伦敦当局对伦敦交通局 (TfL) 的 HFSS 广告实施了新的限制，伦敦交通局是最有价值的户外广告区之一。在这项研究中，我们研究了商业行为者是否以及如何试图影响这些广告限制的发展。方法和发现 根据《信息自由法》使用请求，我们获得了行业对伦敦食品战略咨询的回应、官员和主要行业参与者之间的通信以及会议信息。我们使用了企业政治活动的现有模型，即政策反乌托邦模型，系统地分析了用于反对政策的论点和活动。大多数食品和广告行业咨询受访者反对拟议的广告限制，许多人提倡自愿做法。支持该政策的行业参与者主要是小型企业。为了反对该政策，行业受访者部署了一系列策略。他们夸大了潜在成本并低估了政策的潜在好处，例如，警告负面经济后果并质疑提案背后的证据。尽管对该政策的证据提出质疑，但他们几乎没有提供任何证据来支持他们自己的主张。通过协商和多次会议，商业行为者可以大量接触政策过程和官员，但试图增加接触，例如，申请加入伦敦儿童肥胖症特别工作组并邀请其成员参加活动。他们还采用联合管理，直接或通过商业协会参与来扩大他们的论点。一些广告业参与者也提出了潜在的法律挑战。这项研究的主要限制是我们的数据集中在行业与政策制定者的互动上；因此，我们的研究结果无法全面展示政治活动。结论 在这项研究中，我们发现食品和广告行业参与者强烈反对伦敦交通局的广告限制。我们绘制了用于反对该政策的论点和活动，这可能有助于其他公共当局预测行业努力防止 HFSS 广告出现类似限制。鉴于商业影响在此类政策空间中的潜在后果，公共机构应考虑如何与行业参与者互动。