Exclusive: Co-author of analysis for WHO calls on government to control the food industry rather than being subservient to it

The sugar tax has been so successful in improving people’s diets that it should be extended to cakes, biscuits and chocolate, health experts say.

The World Health Organization wants the next UK government to expand coverage of the levy to help tackle tooth decay, obesity, diabetes and other illnesses.

The plea is published in the WHO’s bulletin, which urges governments worldwide to use the reformulation of food to address the growing crisis of excess weight.

Experts from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have analysed the outcomes of two flagship government policies intended to make food healthier – the sugar tax and sugar reduction programme, which were introduced in 2018 and 2015 respectively.

The levy on the soft-drinks industry led to a 34.3% fall in total sugar sales from such products between 2015 and 2020 and many fizzy drinks containing much less.

But the sugar reduction programme only yielded a 3.5% drop over the same period in the amount of sugar used in the manufacture of the everyday foodstuffs it covered, the experts write in their analysis for the WHO.

Dr Kawther Hashem, a co-author and lecturer in public health nutrition at QMUL, said ministers should trial a sugar tax-style levy on treat foods that still have almost as much sugar as they did as 2015 despite firms being asked to cut sugar by 20% before 2020.

  • HumanPenguinEnglish
    2·
    6 months ago

    Ill also share a cute story just to cheer evety one up.

    First I am hypo unaware. It is a condition that often hits long term well managed T1ds (40years in my case) where we lose the ability to tell when our sugar is low.

    At the time this sugar tax came in. Icwas goingvthrough a 3 year strugle with nice. Where my specialist was trying to grt me issued a CGM. (Continues, Glucose Monitor that warns you when going low)

    I had a girl friend at the time. Who litrally kept me alive. As over the hot summer nights she was regually required to place glucose in my mouth as I was having a fit.

    But after the glucose was in. It can take up to 10 mind for my mind to start responding sanely. Low blood sugar can look like you are very very drunk to outsiders.

    So she would be paniking and constently asking what to do while I was recovering. With me just not in a mental state to explane.

    So when fine one day she asked me wjat was best.

    So I gave her thos advice. Post the low. I genrally needvto take some slower acting carbs to prevent the heat sending me down again.

    The easiest way tovtake it is a sugery cup of tea and a few biscuits.

    Now that is only rechnically true. Pretty much anythibg with a lottle morecsugar and some slow acting carbz will work.

    But when i wake up after those night time lows. My memory is missing a chunch of s few hours (I never regain that). And things feel pretty darn stressful.

    You have no idea how relaxing a sweat cup of tea in bed and some biscuits to dunk is as your comming to from that crsp.

    While also taking the GF mind of rhe panic and giving her something to do rather then worry if I am going to die.