This study does not show that consuming sugar - sweetened beverages causes chronic diseases and the authors themselves acknowledge that they are at best
estimating effects of sugar - sweetened beverage consumption.
The American Beverage Association dismissed the study in a statement, saying it did «not show that consuming sugar - sweetened beverages causes chronic diseases and the authors themselves acknowledge that they are at best
estimating effects of sugar - sweetened beverage consumption.»
We chose to model the effects on body weight because good evidence (from both trials and epidemiological studies) links regular consumption of sugar sweetened drinks to weight gain.8 10 12 Moreover, data from longitudinal studies support the idea that changes in the price of sugar sweetened drinks are linked to changes in body weight.20 Other groups have used this form of modelling to
estimate the effects of a sugar sweetened drink tax on obesity.18 21 22
Morgan Stanley Research
estimated the effect of sugar on diseases and its influence on economic growth.
Not exact matches
Although sales taxes on soft drinks in Ireland and France have both been associated with a reduction in consumption, the health
effects have not been studied.15 16 No significant
effect on obesity
of US state sales taxes has been found, although the level
of taxation there has probably been too low to affect health.13 17 The modelled
estimates of the health
effect of a 20 %
sugar sweetened drink tax in the United States vary, but such a tax has been predicted to reduce obesity by up to three percentage points.13 18 The
effect of a
sugar sweetened drink tax in the UK has not, until now, been formally
estimated.
Whereas
estimates from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey and Living Costs and Food Survey are broadly comparable (123 mL / adult / day versus 168 mL / person / day), the British Soft Drinks Association's figures are threefold to fourfold higher.48 61 The level and pattern
of consumption will determine the magnitude
of the public health
effects of a
sugar sweetened drinks tax, as well as its
effect on health inequalities.
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.
In terms
of effect on consumption, Ng et al
estimated a reduction in
sugar sweetened drink intake
of 104 mL (10 %) per person per week compared with our predicted reduction
of around 15 %.19 The substitution
effects predicted in Ng et al's study are very slight, and as a result the predicted change in energy intake is larger (net decrease
of 24 kJ / person / day compared with our
estimate of 17 kJ / person / day).
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.
In terms
of substitution
effects, the major difference between our
estimates and those from the US is that our data indicate that diet soft drinks are a substitute for
sugar sweetened drinks, whereas US data suggest that diet soft drinks are a complement (as the price
of sugar sweetened drinks goes up, consumption
of diet drinks goes down).18 22 This may explain why a US tax on
sugar sweetened drinks has been so heavily resisted, as a «double whammy» on sales
of both diet soft drinks and
sugar sweetened drinks would occur.18.
Glycemic load scores provide an even more accurate
estimate of the
effect of a food on blood
sugar levels because they take into account not only the glycemic index, but also the portion size
of the food.
ESTIMATED GLYCEMIC LOAD ™ Glycemic load is a way
of expressing a food or meal's
effect on blood -
sugar levels.
Nutrition facts and Information for Spinach, raw
ESTIMATED GLYCEMIC LOAD ™ Glycemic load is a way
of expressing a food or meal's
effect on blood -
sugar self - employed - Translation to Spanish, pronunciation, and forum discussions