A body that advises the Government on public health is to investigate the effectiveness of introducing a tax on sugary drinks, but has stopped short of recommending the measure for the time being.
Public Health England (PHE) says it will look more closely at plans for tighter controls on advertising of high fat, salt and sugary food and drink during children’s TV programmes. The group also calls for the reformulation of foods and reduction in portion sizes to be considered.
In a new report, Sugar reduction: Responding to the challenge, PHE said several countries including France have introduced a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks.
“These have been predicted, through a number of economics models, to reduce consumption of such drinks, but currently no evaluations on real impacts are available. We plan to make a more detailed assessment of emerging evidence around the effectiveness or otherwise of fiscal options to support sugar reduction and dietary health.”
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has previously ruled out the introduction of a tax on sugary drinks.
The body said it “will consider the evidence and the case for considering tighter controls on advertising foods that are high in salt, fat, sugar on children’s television and other media, particularly given the shift in children’s screen time away from television”. “PHE will also take into account the findings of the review of the Advertising Standards Authority in this area.”
On the issue of portion sizes, PHE said: “Trends in portion size over recent years are notable, particularly in venues such as cinemas where the ‘supersizing’ of drinks is common. This helps influence behaviour change and shift social norms to make large portion sizes more acceptable.
“The very large cup sizes of some drinks are an iconic public health issue. PHE will look again at this issue and the positive changes that could be considered in terms of rebalancing the ranges of food and portions sizes offered toward healthy options.”
The report gives advice on how food manufacturers, caterers and retailers could go further under the Responsibility Deal to help reduce sugar intake across the population.
These include reformulating some products by, for example, replacing sugars with sweeteners and gradually lowering the levels of both. PHE also highlighted concerns over the sale of high sugar and other unhealthy foods from public buildings such as hospitals, leisure centres and parks.
PHE looked at research from another body that advises the Government, the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, which found that the UK is consuming more sugar than current recommendations. It says sugar added to food or naturally present in fruit juice and honey should account for 5% of energy intake, with many currently failing to meet the previous 10% target.
Dr Alison Tedstone, PHE’s chief nutritionist, said: “Eating too much sugar is harming our health; excess sugar and calorie intake leads to being overweight and obese and consequently having a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and breast and colon cancer. Currently a third of our 10 and 11 year olds are overweight or obese with the majority coming from the most deprived communities which is unacceptable.”
Barbara Gallani, director of regulation, science and health at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), said: “Britain’s food and drink manufacturers want to continue to play a part in helping consumers reduce their calorie intake and be more active and have committed to reducing calories in their products under the Department of Health’s Responsibility Deal.
“In some cases this has included a reduction in sugar as part of the wider calorie reduction plan. FDF would support constructive discussions and further collaborative work based on robust evidence.”
