He’s only been in office since May, but London Mayor Sadiq Khan has already taken an important step affecting the everyday lives of Londoners.

Khan has proposed a ban for the London Underground that prevents the display of adverts promoting unrealistic expectations of women’s body image and health.

There’s certainly a demand in London for a ban on body-shaming advertising. Last year, there was a phenomenal backlash against Protein World’s now infamous “Are you beach body ready?” poster, which sparked a protest in Hyde Park and a petition on Change.org that received more than 70,000 signatures. That's no small reaction.

What's so bad about a few posters? you might ask. The answer is: they're psychologically insidious and, crucially, they take away the element of choice. There is no trigger warning for a young person going down the escalator on her way back from an appointment at an eating disorder clinic, or on her way back from school where a classmate called her fat, to then be greeted with a tanned, impossibly toned woman's body alongside messaging demanding whether or not she's ready to be seen and judged on a beach. There's no choice involved when plastic surgery clincs' offerings bombard you on your way to work, or when "I used to be fat and sad, but look at me now!" illustrated posters for the latest commercial diet plan add to your stress after a particularly gruelling day. It's not the same as opening a beauty magazine or googling for diet tips. Unless you can afford your own personal chauffeur, you're seeing - and unconsciously processing - those images, every day, whether you like it or not.

Young people face a perfect storm of pressures. There’s persistent testing in schools to contend with; the rapidly changing landscape of a future blighted with terrorism and climate change; the crippling effects of austerity and housing shortages - the list goes on. Khan is right to be conscientious about anything that could make getting through the day more challenging for youth. They have enough on their plate as it is.

Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Show all 10 1 /10 Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Agent Provocateur Lingerie company Agent Provocateur is famed for its raunchy adverts, but this 2001 offering - voted best cinema ad of all time - gained particular notoriety due to its star - Kylie Minogue...Sexually gyrating on a mechanical bull in her lacy undies Youtube/Agent Provocateur Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Calvin Klein This sultry Calvin Klein ad featuring Hollywood star Eva Mendes was quickly banned - the main issue being that there's a flash of Ms Mendes' nipple in the clip Youtube/Calvin Klein Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Renault This racy Renault advert featuring Dita Von Teese and Thierry Henry was deemed to risqué for UK daytime TV after being first aired on ITV in 2011 Youtube/RenaultUKOfficial Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time VIP An advert for VIP e-cigarette's triggered a number of complaints recently after the innuendo laced advert featured a young women suggestively asserting: 'I want you to get it out... put it in my mouth' Youtube/vipcigarette Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Ikea Ikea's Tidy Up campaign, launched first in France in 2001 raised a few questions of taste - not least for a 30 second clip showing a child playing with a vibrator as if it were a toy rocket Youtube/Ikea Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Ford Ford's ad for its SportKA made it to British TV in 2003 but was soon banned after numerous complaints from animal rights activists - it shows a pigeon being bashed by the car's bonnet Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Skin Skin This hilarious Argentinian condom ad shows a young man disguise the fact he has just whipped out a condom when his partner's father walks in by putting it in his mouth and blowing a bubble Youtube Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Ann Summers Ann Summers' online only ad titled 'Flick Your Bean' showed a naked girl crawling along the floor...flicking a bean Youtube/annsummersuk Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Zazoo Another condom advert, this time from Belgium, has been widely lauded as one of the most controversial of all time - it shows a young boy screaming in a supermarket because he wants some sweets, before bringing up the face of his disappointed father along with the words 'use condoms' Ten of the most controversial adverts of all time Volkswagen Volkswagen attracted a storm of criticism in 2005 after an apparent ad for its Polo car appeared online. The clip shows a suicide bomber detonating outside a coffee shop, but the car stays in tact. It was soon revealed that the ad in fact had nothing to do with Volkswagen and was instead a spoof made by advertising creatives Lee Ford and Dan Brooks

A survey last month found that 78 per cent of doctors were seeing more young patients with mental health problems than five years ago, and 87 per cent expected pressure on services to increase even more.

Yes, we can put pressure on the government to increase funding for mental health services, many of which are unravelling under an uncompassionate Tory government. But it’s important to look at harmful triggers that people are exposed to as well.

Like a devastatingly high number of women, I suffered from an eating disorder in my teenage years. And, like many women who have grown up and are now in a position to fight against these sorts of pressures, I know that this type of advertising is potentially catastrophic. They may not cause every eating disorder, but they are at best exacerbating factors.

With the mental health crisis among young people growing every day, removing a few “beach body” posters is the least we can do.