The tax on sugary drinks(sugar tax) reduces cases of obesity among British girls. This is the finding of the study conducted by a team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge. (1)
The anti-obesity sugar tax
In 2020, youth obesity in England affected 10% of 4- to 5-year-olds and 20% of 10- to 11-year-olds.
The figure unfortunately affects the entire European population. From ages 5 to 9, nearly one in three (29.5 percent) children are overweight and/or obese, one in eight (11.6 percent) already suffering from morbid obesity, as WHO Europe 2022 reports. (2)
In Italy, Istat statistics are similar. Already in students in the early elementary grades (7-8 years old) there is an 18% incidence of obesity, while more than one in four (25.2%) in ages 3-17 are overweight. (3) Obesity, it is recalled, is the antechamber of various noncommunicable diseases, NCDs, such as diabetes and hypertension.
It is health policies that make the difference. While Italy continues to postpone the adoption of a sugar tax ( Budget Bill 2023 postpones its adoption until 2024), the United Kingdom introduced a sugar tax in April 2018 designed to incentivize manufacturers to reformulate high-sugar soft drinks.
Manufacturers and importers in the UK are subject to a two-tiered tax:
– 0.24 pounds/liter (0.27 euros/liter) on soft drinks containing at least 8 g of sugar per 100 ml,
– 0.18 pounds/liter (0.20 euros/liter) on soft drinks containing 5 to 8 g of sugar per 100 ml.
Milk, milk-based beverages, 100% fruit juices and beverage powders are exempt from the mechanism.
Incentivized reformulation of prescriptions
The authors of the research under review report that the sugar tax has led to a major reformulation of soft drinks available on the British market.
The percentage of beverages containing >5 g of sugar/100 ml dropped from 49 percent to just 15 percent between September 2015 and February 2019, with reformulation accelerating after the announcement in 2016 of the decision to introduce the sugar tax.
The inevitable increase in the price of reformulated beverages was only partially passed on to consumers. For beverages containing 5 to 8 g of sugar per 100 ml, about one-third of the sample was transferred.
It was precisely the expectation that industry would be given the largest share of the tax burden that favored reformulation, note the researchers, who cite in comparison the less effective sugar tax in Mexico, which is borne entirely by consumers, with an average price increase of 14 percent.
Fewer 5 thousand cases of obesity among girls
To assess the effects of the sugar tax on youth obesity in the 19 months following the introduction of the tax measure, researchers monitored obesity levels in more than one million elementary school children, divided into two groups (4-5 years old and 10-11 years old).
As a result, the incidence of obesity cases decreased by 8% in females aged 10-11 years. A sign equivalent to preventing 5,234 cases of obesity per year.
The best outcome emerged among female students in schools in the most disadvantaged areas, confirming evidence that socioeconomic conditions strongly influence diet quality.
In contrast, no change in the percentage of obese youth was shown for males of the same age (10-11 years) and in the youngest (4-5 years) of any gender.
The harms of marketing
The different imprint of the sugar tax on the obesity of young males and toddlers is associated by researchers with a number of hypotheses:
– younger children (4-5 years old) consume mostly fruit juices, which are excluded from the sugar tax although they contain similar amounts of sugar as sugary drinks. Same for sweets, cookies, desserts and cakes, which are very popular among young children but exempt from the sugar tax,
– 10-11-year-old males watch more TV than coeval females. They therefore turn out to be more affected by the marketing of sugary drinks and energy-dense, nutrient-poor junk food, which are always advertised as helpful in increasing physical performance, as WHO also denounces. (4) The albeit virtuous Health and Care Bill, moreover, does not tighten the mesh of control over junk-food marketing directed to minors enough, as we have seen.
– 10-11 year old girls are also generally more likely to make healthier dietary choices (consuming more fruits and vegetables and less energy dense foods) and adopt healthy behaviors (such as brushing their teeth).
‘This highlights that, in addition to SDIL (sugar tax, ed.), additional evidence-based obesity reduction strategies need to be put in place to improve weight-related outcomes, especially in boys and younger children as they enter primary education,’ the researchers conclude.
Marta Strinati
Notes
(1) Rogers NT, Cummins S, Forde H, Jones CP, Mytton O, Rutter H, Sharp SJ, Theis D, White M, Adams J. Associations between trajectories of obesity prevalence in English primary school children and the UK soft drinks industry levy: An interrupted time series analysis of surveillance data. PLoS Med. 2023 Jan 26;20(1):e1004160. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004160. PMID: 36701272; PMCID: PMC9879401.
(2) Sabrina Bergamini, Dario Dongo. Obesity, childhood obesity, and marketing. WHO Europe 2022 Report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 16.6.22
(3) Dario Dongo, Sabrina Bergamini. Childhood obesity, 1 in 4 children at risk in Italy. Istat Report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 29.19.19
(4) Sabrina Bergamini. Food marketing promotes unhealthy diets for children and young people. WHO report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 28.2.22
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".