Eight cities in the United States have implemented taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, which contribute to health issues including obesity and Type 2 diabetes. New research from the University of Washington investigated responses to sweetened beverage taxes using the purchasing behavior of approximately 400 households in Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Philadelphia – all of which recently introduced beverage taxes. The study was published online Sept.
30 in Health Economics. Researchers found that after the tax was introduced, lower-income households decreased their purchases of sweetened beverages by nearly 50%, while higher-income households reduced purchases by 18%. Since previous studies have shown that lower-income individuals consume sweetened beverages at a higher-than-average rate, these results suggest the taxes could help reduce health disparities and promote population health.
If households reduce their sugar intake, they will experience health benefits. Sweetened beverages are one of the largest sources of sugar in the American diet. They have all kinds of health consequences and don't really provide any nutrition.
The idea with the tax is that lower-income people, because they reduce their intake more, receive greater health benefits than the higher-income households." Melissa Knox, co-author and UW associate teaching professor of economics Using Nielsen Consumer Panel, researchers followed the households for a year before and after the tax was implemented .
