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Sugary drink tax may reduce obesity; AHA supports penny-per-ounce levy
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Researchers in the United Kingdom have devised a model that suggests a 20% tax on sugar-sweetened beverages could reduce the prevalence of obesity by 1.3%, according to data published in the British Medical Journal.
According to the American Heart Association, the consumption of sugary drinks has increased 500% in the past 50 years; children consume 10% to 15% of their total daily calories in sugary drinks alone.
The econometric and comparative risk assessment modeling study was conducted by Adam Briggs, an academic clinical fellow in public health at the University of Oxford, and colleagues.
Their primary outcome was to assess the overall and income-related changes in the number and percentage of overweight and obese adults in the United Kingdom after a tax implementation. Secondary outcomes included the effect of obesity trends by age groups.
Hypothetical health impact
Briggs and colleagues estimated that such a tax could reduce the number of obese adults in the United Kingdom by 1.3% (95% CI, 0.8-1.7), or 180,000 (110,000-247,000) adults, and the number of overweight adults by 0.9% (95% CI, 0.6-1.1), or 285,000 (201,000-364,000) adults, according to data. The effects of obesity tended to decrease with age.
The researchers also accounted for reductions in prevalence of obesity based on three categories of income, according to data:
- 1 (lowest income): 1.3% (95% CI, 0.3-2);
- 2: 0.9% (95% CI, 0.1-1.6); and
- 3 (highest income): 2.1% (95% CI, 1.3-2.9).
“The greatest effects are seen for young people, and no significant differences are found between income groups,” the researchers wrote. “Taxation represents a measure to target population obesity, particularly among young people, but should not be seen as a panacea.”
Economic effect
Besides health benefits of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, Briggs and colleagues wrote that the tax would raise 276 million British pounds ($442 million) annually and would reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by approximately 15%.
“The economic model used for this study from the British Medical Journal, and the existing evidence, provides policymakers a compelling case to enact targeted sugar-sweetened beverage taxes of at least one penny per ounce. This will help further evaluate the impact of price on the consumption of sugary drinks,” the AHA wrote in a statement.
The AHA recommends that state and local governments that generate revenue from beverage taxes should direct those funds toward public health and obesity education and prevention efforts.
In an accompanying editorial, Jason Block, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the department of population medicine at Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare Institute, wrote that Briggs and colleagues provide evidence that a 20% tax on sugary drinks could work, and he calls for a global strategy to measure the results of such a tax.
“Econometric modeling studies are important and helpful but provide projections rather than measures after actual policy change. We now need policymakers to act and provide opportunities for real world evidence on a 20% tax on sugar sweetened drinks,” Block wrote.
For more information:
American Heart Association Statement. Accessed Nov. 6, 2013.
Briggs AD. BMJ. 2013;347:f6189.
Disclosure: Briggs and Block report no relevant financial disclosures. See the study for a full list of disclosures.