Reducing sugar content in drinks could prevent one million cases of obesity

Reducing sugar content in sugar sweetened drinks (including fruit juices) in the UK by 40 per cent over five years could prevent one million cases of obesity, according to research by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). This would in turn prevent around 300,000 cases of type 2 diabetes, over two decades. Based on the UK's salt reduction experience, which has seen salt content in many food products successfully reduced by 40 per cent over five years, the researchers studied the potential effects of a similar reduction in added sugars. The study, published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology , used data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey rolling programme and British Soft Drinks Association annual reports. The researchers calculated sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption level and its contribution to free sugar and energy intakes in the UK population. The calculations showed that a 40 per cent reduction in free sugars added to SSBs over five years would lead to an average reduction in energy intake of 38.4 kcal (calories) per day by the end of the fifth year and this would lead to an average reduction in body weight of 1.20kg in adults. This would result in a reduction of 500,000 overweight adults and one million obese adults, and in turn prevent around 300,000 cases of obesity-related type 2 diabetes over the next two decades.