September 5, 2019

Andrew Campbell 

A research article, “Potential impact on prevalence of obesity in the UK of a 20% price increase in high sugar snacks: modeling study” was published September 4 on the BMJ (British Medical Journal), one of the world’s most cited general medical journals, by 5 UK researchers led by Pauline F. D. Scheelbeek, assistant professor in nutritional and environmental epidemiology.

The research’s modeling targeted on the UK's general adult population and studied the potential impact on body mass index (BMI) under the prevalence of obesity of a 20% price increase in high sugar snacks. Their conclusion affirmed that increasing the price of high sugar snacks by 20% could reduce energy intake, BMI, and prevalence of obesity in the UK. They also found it was double more effective than increasing the price of sugar-sweetened beverages.

The price increase in sugary drinks has been adopted as stealth taxes, a common type of tax levy for governments to increase their revenues without raising the ire of taxpayers, which has already imposed as the sugary drinks tax in the UK. But the study’s finding further suggested governments to impose taxes on biscuits, cakes and sweets. Despite its convincing evidence in tackling obesity and diet-related disease, it would inevitably hurt the lowest income groups while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson often opposed and referred them as sin stealth taxes.

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