WHO is Recommending up to 20% Tax on Soda, Fruit drinks,Sports Drink,Iced Tea,Sweetened Lemonade,Vitamin Water to Decrease Sugar Consumption
Obesity has more than doubled worldwide between 1980 and 2014
11% Men & 15% Women are now Obese Worldwide bringing the Total
To over 500 Million Affected by Obesity
Dr Douglas Bettchet from WHO has 36 Page Report indicating need for Tax to Decrease Consumption and Preventing Obesity Related Disease / Complications
Canadian Diabetes Association Urge Governments to Adopt it, their Spokesman Dr Jan Hux indicated that Diabetes Leads to 30% Stroke,40% Heart Attacks, 50% Kidney Injury Requiring Dialysis
Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases,
These includes diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer
A Teenage boy drinks at least one Pop per day with an additional 40 gram sugar with it
The recommendation for Children is about 6 teaspoons sugar per day but in Canada average child is consuming 33 teaspoons Sugar daily, Most of it from Pop or Juice
Our Prime Minister Right Hon Justin Trudeau in January 2016 Rightfully Said the Following
1) Restricting Commercials Marketing of Unhealthy Food & Beverages to Children
2) Eliminate Trans Fat
3) Reducing Salt in Processed Foods
4) improvement in FoodLabelling
5) Aim to decrease Sugar intake
Once considered a problem only in high income countries, overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings
While the etiology of obesity is complex, increased consumption of free sugars, particularly in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, is associated with weight gain in both children and adults
Recent evidence further suggests an association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and preventable mortality from diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, with the majority of deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries
While sugars are found naturally in many foods, including fruits and milk, the addition of sugars to food products adds to the total energy content of the product. Sugar-sweetened beverages contain added sugars such as sucrose or high fructose corn syrup and a 330ml or 12oz portion of sugar-sweetened carbonated soft drink typically contains some 35g (almost nine teaspoons) of sugars and provides approximately 140 kcal of energy, generally with little other nutritional value.
Evidence suggests that sugar-sweetened beverages are generally consumed quickly and do not provide the same feeling of fullness that solid food provides
such that consumers tend not to reduce intake of other foods sufficiently to compensate for the extra calories provided by sugar-sweetened beverages
Excess calories contribute to overweight and obesity as they can be readily converted to body fat and stored within various tissues.
Overconsumption is likely exacerbated by an increase in the serving sizes of sugar-sweetened beverages over the last several decades
Despite recommendations by medical experts and health organizations to limit consumption, sales of sugar-sweetened beverages are increasing worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries as a result of heavy marketing.
Sugar-sweetened beverage sales in India for example, have increased by more than 10% year-on-year since 1998, exceeding 11 litres per capita per year In Mexico - one of the countries with the highest per-capita consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in the world - it is estimated that nearly 10% of total energy intake of adults comes from sugar-sweetened beverages
Evidence indicates that while nutrition education and other behaviour-change interventions designed to decrease consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages can be effective in reducing intake at the individual level .widespread and lasting behaviour change may be difficult to achieve in adults, as behaviours and food preferences are often established during childhood and can be difficult to modify later in life. To complement interventions targeting individual behaviour, regulatory actions designed to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and other energy-dense foods are being considered, including limiting the single serving size of such foods, limiting or removing access to such foods (e.g. vending machines) in public places and taxes or other pricing disincentives. Particular attention has been paid to taxing sugar-sweetened beverages as evidence suggests that such taxes could substantially reduce consumption and may contribute to a reduction in overweight and obesity
Some countries have already implemented taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages including Hungary, France, several states in the US and most recently Mexico, where (approximately 10%) tax on sugar-sweetened beverages is projected to decrease consumption by 10-12% and may have a substantial impact on reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity in that country However in Denmark the Sugar & Fat Tax was in effective, People went to Neighbouring countries such as Sweden & Germany to buy Cheaper sugar products there
Hence Early Education, Motivation and other Measures may be Necessary to Curb the Crisis of Obesity we are Seeing
In summary, current evidence suggests that reducing sugars intake, especially in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages, may help maintain a healthy body weight and possibly reduce the risk of overweight and obesity
