World Health Organization Supports Taxing Sugary Beverages
In 2013, global beverage volume sales reached 994.1 billion liters. The continuous rise of beverage drinks has consequently lead to a rise in the rate of obesity. According to Dr. Douglas Bettcher from the World Health Organization’s Department for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, consumption of free sugars from sugary drinks have contributed to the global obesity and diabetes pandemic.
Since 1980 the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled to 39% of people around the world in 2014. To make matters worse, there are an estimated 42 million children under the age of five who are suffering from obesity. Especially those in developing countries like Africa and Asia.
Do We Need Sugary Beverages?
Nutritionists argue that while most of us have a sweet tooth, we don’t necessarily need free sugar in our diet. In fact, WHO recommends that people should consume free sugar below 10% of their energy needs. This means that an average adult may consume a single serving of sugary drink per day or a total volume of 250mL.
Dr. Francesco Branca from the WHO’s Department of Nutrition for Health and Development noted that foods with free sugar have high caloric value. So instead of consuming free sugar, it should be avoided like the plague to improve health conditions.
Taxation Is the Solution
The alarming rise of obesity and diabetes all over the world is taking a toll on the global healthcare setting. The World Health Organization suggested that implementing higher taxation on sugary drinks to curb these two main health problems.
In the report released by the WHO titled Fiscal Policies for Diet and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), reduction of the consumption of free sugars as well as calories are seen as the answer to the global obesity pandemic. Free sugars include simple sugars like fructose and glucose as well as disaccharides like table sugar and sucrose. These are added to food by the food manufacturers when creating their products.
But how to do we decrease the amount of sugary drink consumption? WHO recommend adding high taxes to these sugary beverages to discourage people from consuming too many sugary drinks. Thereby reducing their risk to obesity as well as other sugar-related diseases like tooth decay.
People who are affected by obesity and diabetes often fall into the low-income level. Moreover, sugary drinks are often consumed by people in the low-income levels too! Taxation of sugary drinks will most likely affect these people, but they will also be the ones to gain the highest health benefits.
Other Solutions
Aside from implementing higher taxation of sugary drinks, changes in fiscal policies to improve health should be undertaken. The World Health Organization recommended governments to subsidize fruits and vegetables to reduce the price by 30%. This will encourage more people to buy fruits and vegetables. Moreover, higher taxes on foods high in saturated fats and salt should also be implemented. Coupled with reduced consumption of sugary drinks, these fiscal policy changes will produce a lot of benefits for the health of individuals, globally.
Inspired by http://www.who.int