Sugar tax prompts fall in consumption
The daily intake of sugar by adults fell by 11g – equivalent to two and a half teaspoons – in the year after the introduction of the UK’s ‘sugar tax’ in 2018, according to a new study. Consumption by children also fell, by 5g.
The findings, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, analysed 11 years of survey data (2008-2019) from the annual nationally representative UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey. The survey captured information on food consumption, nutrition and nutrient intake from 7,999 adults and 7,656 children.
The levy was found to be particularly effective in limiting the consumption of sugary drinks, with a drop in their consumption estimated to be responsible for half of the sugar reduction (3g in children and 5g in adults). The consumption of free sugars (any sugar added to sweetened foods and drinks and found naturally in fruit juices and syrups) fell by 10 per cent in children and 20 per cent in adults.
However, daily energy intake from free sugars is still higher than the 5 per cent recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). This equates to 30g a day for adults, 24g for those aged seven to 10, and 19g for children aged four and six.
For children, cereal, soft drinks and fruit juice are the biggest contributors to free sugars. But for adults, the largest sources of free sugars are sugar, preserves, confectionary and non-alcoholic drinks.
The UK Government introduced a two-tier sugar tax on soft drinks in April 2018. It added 24p per litre to drinks with the highest sugar content (over 8g) and 18p per litre to those will a lesser amount (between 5g and 8g). Meanwhile, zero-sugar, ‘diet’ drinks and unsweetened juices were unaffected.
In June, the WHO urged the UK Government to extend the sugar tax to cakes, biscuits and chocolate to help tackle tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and other illnesses.