Using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in low-resource contexts: a cross-sectional analysis based on data from an adult Caribbean population
Objective Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes have been implemented widely. We aimed to use a pre-existing nutritional survey data to inform SSB tax design by assessing: (1) baseline consumption of SSBs and SSB-derived free sugars, (2) the percentage of SSB-derived free sugars that would be covered...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2020-09-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e035981.full |
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| author | Jean Adams Nigel Unwin Ian Hambleton Fumiaki Imamura Rachel Harris Miriam Alvarado Angela Rose |
| author_facet | Jean Adams Nigel Unwin Ian Hambleton Fumiaki Imamura Rachel Harris Miriam Alvarado Angela Rose |
| author_sort | Jean Adams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes have been implemented widely. We aimed to use a pre-existing nutritional survey data to inform SSB tax design by assessing: (1) baseline consumption of SSBs and SSB-derived free sugars, (2) the percentage of SSB-derived free sugars that would be covered by a tax and (3) the extent to which a tax would differentiate between high-sugar SSBs and low-sugar SSBs. We evaluated these three considerations using pre-existing nutritional survey data in a developing economy setting.Methods We used data from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey in Barbados (2012–2013, prior to SSB tax implementation). Data were available on 334 adults (25–64 years) who completed two non-consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls. We estimated the prevalence of SSB consumption and its contribution to total energy intake, overall and stratified by taxable status. We assessed the percentage of SSB-derived free sugars subject to the tax and identified the consumption-weighted sugar concentration of SSBs, stratified by taxable status.Findings Accounting for sampling probability, 88.8% of adults (95% CI 85.1 to 92.5) reported SSB consumption, with a geometric mean of 2.4 servings/day (±2 SD, 0.6, 9.2) among SSB consumers. Sixty percent (95% CI 54.6 to 65.4) of SSB-derived free sugars would be subject to the tax. The tax did not clearly differentiate between high-sugar beverages and low-sugar beverages.Conclusion Given high SSB consumption, targeting SSBs was a sensible strategy in this setting. A substantial percentage of free sugars from SSBs were not covered by the tax, reducing possible health benefits. The considerations proposed here may help policymakers to design more effective SSB taxes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-56d4f39af87d4c4baebcdde955157567 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-09-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-56d4f39af87d4c4baebcdde9551575672025-01-08T10:55:09ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-09-0110910.1136/bmjopen-2019-035981Using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in low-resource contexts: a cross-sectional analysis based on data from an adult Caribbean populationJean Adams0Nigel Unwin1Ian Hambleton2Fumiaki Imamura3Rachel Harris4Miriam Alvarado5Angela Rose61 MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Institute of Metabolic Science, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKCollege of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Truro, UK3 Professor of Biostatistics, The University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, Bridgetown, Saint Michael, BarbadosMRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge, UK8 Female Performance and Health Initiative, Australian Institute of Sport, Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory, AustraliaCentre for Diet and Activity Research, MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UKGeorge Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre, Caribbean Institute for Health Research, University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, Bridgetown, BarbadosObjective Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes have been implemented widely. We aimed to use a pre-existing nutritional survey data to inform SSB tax design by assessing: (1) baseline consumption of SSBs and SSB-derived free sugars, (2) the percentage of SSB-derived free sugars that would be covered by a tax and (3) the extent to which a tax would differentiate between high-sugar SSBs and low-sugar SSBs. We evaluated these three considerations using pre-existing nutritional survey data in a developing economy setting.Methods We used data from a nationally representative cross-sectional survey in Barbados (2012–2013, prior to SSB tax implementation). Data were available on 334 adults (25–64 years) who completed two non-consecutive 24-hour dietary recalls. We estimated the prevalence of SSB consumption and its contribution to total energy intake, overall and stratified by taxable status. We assessed the percentage of SSB-derived free sugars subject to the tax and identified the consumption-weighted sugar concentration of SSBs, stratified by taxable status.Findings Accounting for sampling probability, 88.8% of adults (95% CI 85.1 to 92.5) reported SSB consumption, with a geometric mean of 2.4 servings/day (±2 SD, 0.6, 9.2) among SSB consumers. Sixty percent (95% CI 54.6 to 65.4) of SSB-derived free sugars would be subject to the tax. The tax did not clearly differentiate between high-sugar beverages and low-sugar beverages.Conclusion Given high SSB consumption, targeting SSBs was a sensible strategy in this setting. A substantial percentage of free sugars from SSBs were not covered by the tax, reducing possible health benefits. The considerations proposed here may help policymakers to design more effective SSB taxes.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e035981.full |
| spellingShingle | Jean Adams Nigel Unwin Ian Hambleton Fumiaki Imamura Rachel Harris Miriam Alvarado Angela Rose Using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in low-resource contexts: a cross-sectional analysis based on data from an adult Caribbean population BMJ Open |
| title | Using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in low-resource contexts: a cross-sectional analysis based on data from an adult Caribbean population |
| title_full | Using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in low-resource contexts: a cross-sectional analysis based on data from an adult Caribbean population |
| title_fullStr | Using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in low-resource contexts: a cross-sectional analysis based on data from an adult Caribbean population |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in low-resource contexts: a cross-sectional analysis based on data from an adult Caribbean population |
| title_short | Using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes in low-resource contexts: a cross-sectional analysis based on data from an adult Caribbean population |
| title_sort | using nutritional survey data to inform the design of sugar sweetened beverage taxes in low resource contexts a cross sectional analysis based on data from an adult caribbean population |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/9/e035981.full |
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