Imposing 20% Tax on Sugary Drinks Can Cut Obesity Rate

A new U.K study suggests that imposing a 20 percent tax on sugary drinks may help cut obesity rate among adults by 1.3 percent or 180,000 people.

A sugary drink, also known as sugar sweetened drink, is a drink with added sugar or other sweeteners which provides extra calories but zero nutritional value. Regular consumption is often linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay. Consuming 12-ounce of a sugary drink everyday may lead to an extra 15 pounds in a year. One serving has up to 15 teaspoons of sugar and each teaspoon is equal to 16 calories.

Dr. Adam Briggs, lead author of the study from the Nuffield Department of Population Health at Oxford University, examined a 2010 household survey involving 12,196 participants. The survey was divided into two drink categories: sugar sweetened drinks and carbonated beverages. The respondents were also divided into three age groups: 16-29, 30-49, and 50 and above.

Imposing a 20 percent tax on sugary drinks would mean the price of a 330ml drink will cost 12p more or 40p for a liter.

After consolidating the responses of the survey, they found that there will be a 15 percent reduction on the purchases of sugary drinks once the additional tax is imposed and people will cut their calorie intake per week by 28 calories on average.

Looking at the age group who is most likely to be swayed by the additional tax, the researchers saw that it would impact those age 16 to 29 or 180,000 people. This is promising as the same group has the most consumption noted which is 300ml per day on average.

"Sugar-sweetened drinks are known to be bad for health and our research indicates that a 20% tax could result in a meaningful reduction in the number of obese adults in the UK,” Briggs told BBC.

"Such a tax is not going to solve obesity by itself, but we have shown it could be an effective public health measure and should be considered alongside other measures to tackle obesity in the UK."

The study was published in the Oct. 31 issue of the British Medical Journal.

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