A British university study has announced that a sugar tax can prevent obesity in adolescents. The UK introduced a sugar tax on sugary drinks in April 2018. Beverages containing 5g of sugar per 100ml are subject to a tax of 18p (about 273 won) per liter.
According to a joint study by Cambridge University and Oxford University in the UK, the obesity rate of 6th grade girls decreased after the sugar tax was introduced. In particular, the obesity level of female students living in poor areas fell by 9%. However, the relationship between the sugar tax and the sugar tax has not been proven for male students and infants in the 6th grade of elementary school.
The research team measured changes in obesity levels in children aged 4 to 11 over a six-year period from 2014 to 2020. As a result of the study, it was found that 19 months after the introduction of the sugar tax, the obesity level of 6th grade girls in elementary school decreased by 8% compared to before the introduction of the sugar tax. This equates to preventing obesity in 5234 people per year.
“This is the first study to show that a sugar tax can help prevent obesity in many children each year,” said Nina Rogers, PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, UK.
The results of this research were introduced in the international academic journal ‘PLOS Medicine’ and the American Association for the Advancement of Science website ‘Eureka Elert’.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended a sugar tax in 2016. Accordingly, in Korea, the National Assembly Legislative Research Service reviewed the introduction of a sugar tax in 2020. In July 2021, the Korea Local Tax Research Institute published a report on ‘sugar tax overseas cases and local tax policy direction’, and the Korea Tax Finance Institute also announced a related report.
Lee Ye-ji, Donga.com reporter [email protected]
