Effects of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxation

Obesity, overweight, and type two diabetes rates increased over time but decelerated post-tax intervention, more significantly in children. Only a few countries showed a decrease in prevalence after the tax. The tax amount seems to impact the outcome, with larger taxes showing a bigger change. The impact of the tax laws varied across countries based on national income levels. The review found that about a quarter of countries globally had implemented some form of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation policy, resulting in a relatively small effect on prevalence rates. The small effect may be due to the recent implementation of tax laws, potentially showing more impact in the future. However, the overall impact may be limited due to the complexity of the food environment, as people may find added sugar from other sources even if they reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.