One year following the sugar tax came into effect, British children ate 4.8 grams less sugar a day, while British adults’ intake was 10.9 grams less, according to studies.
Most of the decline is due to people drinking less soft drinks, the researchers state. Less soft drinks alone have led to children taking in 3 grams less sugar a day and adults 5 grams less.
Does not meet WHO requirements
Yet Britons still eat a lot of sugar overall, and thus do not meet the recommended guidelines from their own health authority or the World Health Organization (WHO).
The type of sugar Britons eat the most is known as so-called “free sugar”, which is found a lot in soft drinks, but also in other foods such as biscuits, chocolate, flavored yoghurt and cereal.
Sugar in honey, syrup, unsweetened fruit juice, vegetable juice and smoothies occurs naturally, but also counts as “free sugar”.
Previous research has linked sugary drinks to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and premature death.
The fee works
The UK introduced a sugar tax in April 2018 in an attempt to encourage manufacturers to reduce the sugar content of soft drinks. It worked, and the experts have concluded that sugar consumption fell among both children and adults following the tax was introduced.
The latest study has been published in the monthly peer-reviewed public health journal Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Experts from, among others, the University of Cambridge and University College London are behind it.
The study was carried out in the period 2011-2019, but also includes research data collected through the authorities’ annual diet survey carried out between 2008 and 2019.
The purpose has been to study people’s sugar intake over time. A total of 7999 adults and 7656 children are included in the final analysis of the study.
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2024-07-10 16:43:47