In terms of own
price elasticity values, a recent meta - analysis
estimated an average own
price effect for carbonated sugar sweetened drinks (a near equivalent of the category non-concentrated sugar sweetened drinks, which predominantly includes carbonated drinks) of − 0.93, larger than our value of − 0.81.51 Our
estimated value is also at the lower end of the range of own
price elasticities frequently cited for sugar sweetened drinks of − 0.8 to − 1.0, based on one large review.52 Our own
price estimate is comparable to experimental data (a 25 % reduction for a 35 %
price rise) in a canteen study.53 However, all these
estimates may be influenced by US studies in which higher
estimates may reflect higher levels of consumption.
The lower levels of baseline sugar sweetened drink consumption in the UK compared with the US may in part explain why the effect on obesity that we
estimate in the UK is much less than that
estimated in the US.12 The differences with respect to other modelling studies may also be partly explained by their use of higher own
price elasticity values for sugar sweetened drinks than we have calculated and used here.18 22 52 We can not make direct comparisons between the results of our study and the results of recent studies of the effect of reducing sugar sweetened drink consumption on body weight in children, 5 7 as the relation between energy balance and change in body mass index in children who are growing is different from that in adults.