The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new report that says taxing sugary drinks can yield major health benefits, such as reducing obesity, type 2 diabetes and tooth decay.
Launched on World Obesity Day (October 11), the report, Fiscal Policies for Diet and Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases, argues that fiscal policies that lead to at least a 20 per cent increase in the retail price of sugary drinks would result in proportional reductions in consumption of such products.
WHO says such reduced consumption would mean lower intake of “free sugars” and calories overall and improved nutrition, with fewer people suffering from overweight, obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.
Free sugars refer to monosaccharides – such as glucose or fructose – and disaccharides – such as sucrose or table sugar – added to food and drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, along with sugars naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices and concentrates.
Between 1980 and 2014, global prevalence of obesity reportedly more than doubled with greater than half a billion adults – 11 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women – being classified as obese. In 2014, more than one in three, or 39 per cent of adults worldwide aged 18 and older, were overweight.
WHO added that the number of people living with diabetes has also been on the rise, from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. Moreover, the disease was directly responsible for 1.5 million deaths in 2012 alone.
The report points out that some groups, including people living on low incomes, young people and those who frequently consume unhealthy foods and beverages, are most responsive to changes in prices of drinks and foods and, therefore, gain the highest health benefits.
The report adds that fiscal policies should target foods and beverages for which healthier alternatives are available.
The report presents outcomes of a mid-2015 meeting of global experts convened by WHO and an investigation of 11 recent systematic reviews of the effectiveness of fiscal policy interventions for improving diets and preventing noncommunicable diseases and a technical meeting of global experts.
Subsidies for fresh fruits and vegetables that reduce prices by 10 – 30 percent can increase fruit and vegetable consumption.
