Taxing sugary drinks may not cut obesity as much as headlines claim
A study has suggested that the UK’s 2018 sugar tax prevents 5000 cases of obesity among 10 to 11-year-old girls in England every year, but the picture may be rather more complicated than that
Health
| Analysis
27 January 2023
Countries such as the UK, Mexico and South Africa have a tax on sugary drinks Justin Kase zsixz/Alamy
The UK sugary drinks tax is working, or so says a study published this week. Newspaper headlines claim the tax prevents 5000 cases of obesity among 10 to 11-year-old girls in England every year.
Unfortunately, that may be optimistic. It is debatable whether any small drop in obesity rates in this age group is really due to the tax, and regardless, any such effects have been overwhelmed by the larger rise in children’s weight amid the …