Sugar tax: There's more to come in the war on obesity

It's not the end, there's more to come. That was the message from ministers with the launch of the soft drinks sugar tax.

There was a clear hint that further anti-obesity policies are not far off. The government seems emboldened to press on with strategies aimed at persuading companies to cut calorie content and to wean consumers off their fast-food habit.

First of all, policymakers may well consider extending the scope of the sugar tax to flavoured milk drinks. They were left out of the scope of the levy when it was first announced in 2016.

But the instigator of the policy, George Osborne, when he was chancellor, now says he wishes he had gone further at the outset and included sugary milk drinks in the tax net. He hinted that current cabinet members should move more rapidly.

Speaking to the BBC's Newsnight, Mr Osborne said: "I was already, before I left office, looking at whether you could extend it to sugar added to milk products like sugary milkshakes. I think it'll be for others to take further steps forward and I would predict those steps will be taken."

In train already is a sugar reformulation plan. This is aimed at products not covered by the soft drinks levy, such as cakes, biscuits and cereals. Manufacturers and retailers have reached agreement with health officials to cut sugar content of these food items by 20% over four years with a 5% reduction in the first year. They can do it either by introducing new recipes or cutting portion sizes.

Public Health England says the results from the first year of this sugar reduction plan are due to be published in May. A stack of market sales data has been assembled and officials are analysing it to work out whether companies in each category are cutting sugar content in line with the target.

It's understood that the sugar content removed by the food and restaurant industries in the first year has fallen short of the required 5%. Better progress has been made apparently by cereal manufacturers than biscuit and chocolate producers. It's a voluntary plan and critics will point out that there are no sanctions for companies which don't hit their targets.

Officials will argue that it's a fair start and the first year was always going to be difficult as the industry changed its production processes to remove sugar. There is optimism that the four-year 20% sugar reduction plan will be successful.

Its going to be a busy year for Public Health England as it has recently launched a calorie-cutting strategy, again involving companies signing up to voluntary targets. This covers pizzas, pies, processed foods and a range of savoury items. The detail has not been worked out and that could yet be a more challenging task than for the sugar plan.

Whitehall is gearing up for a wider child obesity strategy this summer. Theresa May seems to have noted that opposition to the sugar tax has been muted and decided that she can go further than the plan she unveiled in 2016 which was widely criticised as too weak. Back on the agenda are curbs on food advertising during prime time television programmes and restrictions on promotions of high calorie food in supermarkets.

Shoppers, meanwhile, will be getting used to the new sugar tax world. Companies making high sugar drinks will be watching closely to see if their customers are deterred from paying 48p more for a two-litre bottle. Those who have reduced sugar content to come in below the tax threshold will want to find out whether consumers are happy with the new recipes.

Irn-Bru has encountered resistance after moving to a lower sugar version. There have been mutterings on social media that the new version of Ribena does not taste as good as the traditional one.

What will take time is gathering evidence on the impact of these policies. Will they bring down obesity? Will there be unintended consequences? Might any changes in people's health have happened anyway? The debate will continue even though there may not be much data for a while yet.

Refrescos mortales: Las bebidas azucaradas matan a miles de mexicanos

Reuters

El consumo de este tipo de bebidas causa cada año unas 24.000 muertes, según las autoridades mexicanas.

La violencia no es la única causa grave de mortalidad en México. Unas 24.000 personas mueren cada año en México por problemas de salud vinculados al consumo de bebidas azucaradas, según datos del Instituto nacional de Salud Pública.

Además, este tipo de bebidas provoca enfermedades tan peligrosas como la obesidad y la diabetes. De hecho, "entre los hombres y mujeres menores de 45 años, las bebidas azucaradas causan el 22% y el 33%, respectivamente, de todas las muertes relacionadas con la diabetes, las enfermedades cardiovasculares y obesidad en el país", advierte el organismo.

Se trata de bebidas como los jugos, refrescos, tés y preparados con cafeína. La toma diaria de estos líquidos azucarados aumenta el riesgo de contraer enfermedades como la diabetes y la obesidad, padecimientos que fueron declarados en 2016 como emergencias epidemiológicas en el país. No en vano, 7 de cada 10 mexicanos adultos y 3 de cada 10 niños padecen obesidad, mientras que el 9,2% de la población vive con diabetes, según datos del Observatorio Mexicano de Enfermedades No Transmisibles y el Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública.

Desde 2014 el Gobierno de México instauró un impuesto del 10% a los líquidos con alta concentración de azúcar, con el objetivo de ayudar a disminuir su compra. Y aunque en 2015 se logró una disminución del 9,7% en su consumo, la alarma sigue latente, pues un reciente informe del Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública reporta que México es el campeón a escala mundial en ingesta de bebidas azucaradas, ya que un ciudadano bebe de promedio 163 litros anuales, gastando más de 130 dólares. Le siguen EE.UU. con 118 litros por persona y Chile, con 116, recogen medios mexicanos.  

Las autoridades confían en ver resultados a largo plazo, y esperan que para 2024 este impuesto ayude a reducir la obesidad en un 2,5%, así como a prevenir, para el año 2030, entre 86.000 y 134.000 nuevos casos de diabetes en México. 

Sugar tax on soft drinks could prevent tens of thousands from becoming obese, says new study

A sugar tax on soft drinks could result in thousands fewer British adults and children becoming obese, research suggests.

Experts said the proposed levy, due to be introduced in April 2018, was likely to have a “significant” impact on health and obesity rates.

The industry tax relates to the sugar content of drinks, with a higher amount charged for the most sugary beverages.

Researchers modelled three ways that the soft drinks industry might respond to the levy - reducing the sugar content of drinks, raising the price of sugary drinks, and encouraging customers to switch to drinks containing less sugar.

For each scenario they estimated the likely effect on rates of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

The study found that a 30 per cent reduction in the sugar content of all high-sugar drinks - a step already taken by some manufacturers - and a 15 per cent reduction for moderately sugary drinks could result in 144,000 fewer adults and children being obese.

Such a step would also lead to 19,000 fewer new cases of Type 2 diabetes each year, and a yearly reduction of 269,000 teeth affected by decay.

Passing on half of the cost of the levy to consumers, leading to a 20 per cent increase in the price of high and mid-sugar drinks, was predicted to reduce the number of obese adults and children by 81,600, cases of diabetes by 10,800, and decaying teeth by 149,000.

Dr Adam Briggs, from Oxford University, who led the research published in The Lancet Public Health journal, said: “Our study provides the first estimates of the likely health impact of the UK soft drinks levy.

“The good news is that our study suggests that all of the most likely industry responses to the tax including reducing sugar content of soft drinks, raising prices of high-sugar drinks and increasing the market share of low-sugar drinks have the potential to improve health by reducing rates of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

“The extent of the health benefits of the tax will depend on industry's response.

“We must therefore be vigilant to ensure the food industry acts to remove sugar from soft drinks, and that where the tax is passed on to consumers it increases the price of targeted products only - drinks with high levels of sugar.”

Oxford colleague and co-author Professor Susan Jebb said: “In spite of the uncertainties, the direction of the effect is clear; this levy will have a positive impact, especially on children's health.

“Of course, on its own a soft drinks levy cannot solve the obesity crisis, but we should not underestimate the importance of this step, both for the UK and as a case study for other parts of the world.”

Professor Richard Tiffin, another member of the team from the University of Reading, said it was significant that children would benefit most.

He added: “Childhood obesity is a ticking time bomb and we must now turn our attention to other measures that will bring about the step change in diet that is necessary to truly tackle this issue.

“We need a much better understanding of the diverse and complex reasons people choose a poor diet.”

Nutrition expert Professor Tom Sanders, from King's College London, said he found some of the claims made by researchers “hard to swallow”.

He pointed out that according to the study findings, the proposed tax would reduce energy intake by five calories per person per day, or a third of a teaspoonful of sugar.

“This is a very small reduction in energy intake - equivalent to the amount of energy expended by one minute of brisk walking,” he said.

Other experts called the research “important” and “encouraging”.

Professor Neena Modi, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), said: “Children stand to benefit the most, so this study is a clarion call to industry to fulfil their moral obligations to promote child wellbeing.

“We also reiterate the importance of evaluating the true impact of the sugar tax, once it is introduced, so that the UK can provide much needed evidence to other countries that are considering emulating this potentially powerful public health intervention.”

A Government spokesman said: “This is independent confirmation that the soft drinks industry levy, a key part of our world-leading Childhood Obesity Plan, will be a potent tool in the fight against childhood obesity.

“Not only that, it will help save our children's teeth and cut rates of type 2 diabetes.”