25 Jun 2019

Research on sugary drinks: sugar tax reduces consumption by 10%

From Nine To Noon, 9:08 am on 25 June 2019
Bottles of soft drinks, isolated on a white background. (file photo)

Photo: 123RF

A newly released review from Otago University shows there's a direct correlation between the amount of tax imposed and a drop in the consumption of sugary drinks: finding for instance a 10% tax has reduced the purchase and consumption of sugary drinks by 10%.

The study looks at the effects of imposing a sugar tax in four American cities, the Catalonia region of Spain, and country-wide in Chile, France and Mexico.  Kathryn Ryan speaks with lead author Dr Andrea Teng, a public health physician and senior researcher at the University of Otago.  The review has just been published in international scientific journal, Obesity Reviews.

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