A new study shows that a soda tax introduced in 2018 in the UK has yielded results. Overweight rates fell by eight percent among girls of middle school age and more than 5,000 cases of obesity were averted. Mexico also tried a soft drink tax, with obesity falling by three percent in teenage girls, but not boys.
Thus, such taxation does not seem to produce the same results in boys. Epidemiologist Nina Rogers speculates that it may have something to do with girls being more receptive to public health discussions, while she thinks boys have been influenced more by the marketing of soft drinks, for example by celebrities doing commercials. SVT writes that five percent of Swedish teenage boys drink more than a liter of soda per day.
The Food Agency here in Sweden has investigated policy measures for healthy food consumption, focusing on the soda tax as a possible way to reduce obesity. Within a year, the Swedish Food Agency will announce which methods they believe will have the greatest impact in reducing obesity among Swedes.
According to the World Health Organization, 85 countries have already introduced a tax on soft drinks.
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