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Adding an excise tax of $0.01 per ounce to sugar-sweetened beverages has the potential to reduce obesity rates by 2.4% in adolescents and 1.6% in children, according to new research.
"It reduces obesity while generating significant revenue for additional obesity prevention activities," Alyson Kreutensen of Partners for Prevention in Washington, D.C., and her colleagues said, citing an estimate that such a tax would have generated $13.25 billion in 2010 (Am. J. Prev. Med. 2014 Aug. 28 [doi:10.1016/ampre.2014.07.011]).
The researchers analyzed three policies aimed at reducing childhood obesity – the excise tax, after-school physical activity programs, and a ban on child-directed fast food television advertising – looking at each policy’s impact on diet or physical activity, as well as body mass index, on a simulated school-aged population in 2032.
The physical activity program fared the best, reducing obesity among the most children aged 6-12 years (a 1.8-percentage point decrease), with the advertising ban having the smallest effect of the three policies examined (a 0.9-percentage point decrease). The excise tax, however, was cited as the best option because it also would help reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in adults and raise revenue.
An excise tax "would also reduce obesity among adults who consume sugar-sweetened beverages, does not require substantial federal funding to implement (unlike the afterschool policy) and would not face the legal hurdles that new regulations often encounter," they said.
The researchers also predicted that the excise tax would have a greater impact for black and Hispanic populations because whites "had higher income levels and are therefore less affected by a price increase, and had a lower baseline rate of obesity."
The investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Aetna Foundation.
Adding an excise tax of $0.01 per ounce to sugar-sweetened beverages has the potential to reduce obesity rates by 2.4% in adolescents and 1.6% in children, according to new research.
"It reduces obesity while generating significant revenue for additional obesity prevention activities," Alyson Kreutensen of Partners for Prevention in Washington, D.C., and her colleagues said, citing an estimate that such a tax would have generated $13.25 billion in 2010 (Am. J. Prev. Med. 2014 Aug. 28 [doi:10.1016/ampre.2014.07.011]).
The researchers analyzed three policies aimed at reducing childhood obesity – the excise tax, after-school physical activity programs, and a ban on child-directed fast food television advertising – looking at each policy’s impact on diet or physical activity, as well as body mass index, on a simulated school-aged population in 2032.
The physical activity program fared the best, reducing obesity among the most children aged 6-12 years (a 1.8-percentage point decrease), with the advertising ban having the smallest effect of the three policies examined (a 0.9-percentage point decrease). The excise tax, however, was cited as the best option because it also would help reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in adults and raise revenue.
An excise tax "would also reduce obesity among adults who consume sugar-sweetened beverages, does not require substantial federal funding to implement (unlike the afterschool policy) and would not face the legal hurdles that new regulations often encounter," they said.
The researchers also predicted that the excise tax would have a greater impact for black and Hispanic populations because whites "had higher income levels and are therefore less affected by a price increase, and had a lower baseline rate of obesity."
The investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Aetna Foundation.
Adding an excise tax of $0.01 per ounce to sugar-sweetened beverages has the potential to reduce obesity rates by 2.4% in adolescents and 1.6% in children, according to new research.
"It reduces obesity while generating significant revenue for additional obesity prevention activities," Alyson Kreutensen of Partners for Prevention in Washington, D.C., and her colleagues said, citing an estimate that such a tax would have generated $13.25 billion in 2010 (Am. J. Prev. Med. 2014 Aug. 28 [doi:10.1016/ampre.2014.07.011]).
The researchers analyzed three policies aimed at reducing childhood obesity – the excise tax, after-school physical activity programs, and a ban on child-directed fast food television advertising – looking at each policy’s impact on diet or physical activity, as well as body mass index, on a simulated school-aged population in 2032.
The physical activity program fared the best, reducing obesity among the most children aged 6-12 years (a 1.8-percentage point decrease), with the advertising ban having the smallest effect of the three policies examined (a 0.9-percentage point decrease). The excise tax, however, was cited as the best option because it also would help reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in adults and raise revenue.
An excise tax "would also reduce obesity among adults who consume sugar-sweetened beverages, does not require substantial federal funding to implement (unlike the afterschool policy) and would not face the legal hurdles that new regulations often encounter," they said.
The researchers also predicted that the excise tax would have a greater impact for black and Hispanic populations because whites "had higher income levels and are therefore less affected by a price increase, and had a lower baseline rate of obesity."
The investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the Aetna Foundation.
FROM THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
Key clinical finding: Among three options examined, taxing soda and other sugary beverages has the best potential to lower childhood obesity
Major finding: Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages could reduce obesity rates by 2.4% in adolescents and by 1.6% in children.
Data source: Literature review of studies published from January 2000 through July 2012 to determine effectiveness of three policies – afterschool physical activity program, taxing sugar-sweetened beverages at $0.01 per ounce, and a ban on child-directed fast food television advertising – in a simulated school-aged population in 2032.
Disclosures: The authors reported no financial conflicts. Research was funded by the Aetna Foundation.
