This study assessed the association between baseline sociodemographic variables, body composition and 4-year changes in the intake of food groups, including sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) among children, after implementation of the health promotion levy.

Prospective cohort study

10 schools in North West Province, South Africa

950 children aged 5-9y at baseline and data of 672 children at follow-up. Frequency of intake from healthy and unhealthy food groups were assessed by questionnaire. Anthropometric and sociodemographic information were collected; BMI z-scores (BAZ) were calculated. The health promotion levy was implemented after baseline and follow-up measurements were done after four years. A random intercept generalized linear mixed model analysis was applied to investigate the time effect of the weekly intake of the foods adjusting for BAZ and sociodemographic characteristics of the children.

The weekly frequency of intake from most food groups remained unchanged at follow-up. The frequency of SSBs intake decreased significantly over four years. Decreased intake of SSBs was not linked to increased intake of healthy foods. Changes in intakes from SSBs were not associated with household income, parental education, or BAZ categories. A decreased frequency of intake from SSBs was observed following the implementation of the health promotion levy after baseline, in line with reports of national decreases in SSB sales in South Africa since 2017.

The decreased frequency of SSB intakes following the implementation of the health promotion levy in South Africa may indicate that health policies can promote healthier dietary habits.

The UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) (announced in March 2016; implemented in April 2018) aims to incentivise reformulation of soft drinks to reduce added sugar levels. The SDIL has been applauded as a policy success, and it has survived calls from parliamentarians for it to be repealed. We aimed to explore parliamentary reaction to the SDIL following its announcement until two years post-implementation in order to understand how health policy can become established and resilient to opposition.

Searches of Hansard for parliamentary debate transcripts that discussed the SDIL retrieved 186 transcripts, with 160 included after screening. Five stages of Applied Thematic Analysis were conducted: familiarisation and creation of initial codebooks; independent second coding; codebook finalisation through team consensus; final coding of the dataset to the complete codebook; and theme finalisation through team consensus.

The United Kingdom Parliament

N/A

Between the announcement (16/03/2016) – royal assent (26/04/2017), two themes were identified 1: SDIL welcomed cross-party 2: SDIL a good start but not enough. Between royal assent – implementation (5/04/2018), one theme was identified 3: The SDIL worked – what next? The final theme identified from implementation until 16/03/2020 was 4: Moving on from the SDIL.

After the announcement, the SDIL had cross-party support and was recognised to have encouraged reformulation prior to implementation. Lessons for governments indicate that the combination of cross-party support and a policy’s documented success in achieving its aim can help cement the resilience of it to opposition and threats of repeal.

To explore the #SugarTax debate on Twitter to assess actors involved, their connections and the topics being discussed during the implementation and first anniversary of the UK Soft Drink Industry Levy.

The structure of the #SugarTax debate on Twitter was assessed using social network analysis. The actors involved, their connections and the topics of discussion taking place were also explored using content, sentiment and thematic analyses.

Twitter between 2017 and 2019.

Twitter users engaging in discussions relating to the hashtag ‘SugarTax’.

Tweets (n 5366) posted between 5 August 2017 and 7 May 2019 containing #SugarTax were downloaded from Twitter using Network Overview for Discovery and Exploration in Excel. The network included 1883 users, with 686 unique edges and 4679 edges with duplicates. The majority of tweets were negative in sentiment, when assessed by both automatic (64 %, n 141) and manual sentiment analysis (52 %, n 115) methods. Nine key themes were identified and grouped into two groups according to ‘support for a sugar or SSB tax’ or ‘opposition for a sugar or SSB tax’.

Twitter was used as a platform for debating the benefits and limitations of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes. The findings indicate that numerous actors are involved in the debates on Twitter, with advocates and lobbyists using the platform to raise support for their campaigns and reshape public perceptions. The findings and the methods used may be of interest to policymakers as well as to academics and members of the public looking to explore and engage in policy debates.

To provide baseline evidence of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption in a sample of Irish children prior to the introduction of the SSB tax; to identify the energy contribution of SSB to daily energy intake; and to explore the association between SSB consumption and overweight/obesity.

Cross-sectional study.

Primary schools in Cork, Ireland in 2012.

1075 boys and girls aged 8–11 years. SSB consumption was assessed from 3-d food diaries. BMI was used to define obesity (International Obesity Taskforce definitions). Plausible energy reporters (n 724, 68 % of total sample) were classified using Schofield equation.

Eighty-two per cent of children with plausible energy intake consumed SSB. Mean energy intake from SSB was 485 kJ (6 % of total kJ). Mean kilojoules from SSB increased with weight status from 443 kJ for normal-weight children to 648 kJ for children with overweight/obesity (5·8 and 7·6 % of total kJ, respectively). Mean SSB intake was significantly higher in children with overweight/obesity than normal-weight children (383 and 315 ml/d). In adjusted analyses, children consuming >200 ml/d had an 80 % increased odds of overweight/obesity compared to those consuming <200 ml/d (OR 1·8, 95 % CI 1·0, 3·5). Family socioeconomic status and lifestyle determinants, including frequency of takeaway consumption and TV viewing, were also significantly associated with SSB consumption.

SSB account for a substantial proportion of daily energy intake and are significantly associated with child overweight/obesity. This study provides baseline data from a sample of children from which the impact of the SSB tax can be benchmarked.

To explore awareness and perceptions of the sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax implemented in Mexico in 2014 among a sample of Mexican adolescents, and to investigate how the tax has affected their purchases and intake of SSB.

Qualitative.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted in April–May 2016. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Adolescents residing in north-west Mexico (n 29, 55·2 % females), aged 15–19 years.

Four main themes emerged: awareness of taxation; perceptions of how the tax has affected SSB intake; reasons why the tax was not perceived to have affected SSB intake; and preferences for substitution of the taxed SSB. Participants were mostly unaware of the tax and perceived that it would not cause reductions in their intake of SSB; they felt that the price increase was low and insufficient to affect intake. Taste preferences and ‘addiction’ to SSB were highlighted as the main reasons why participants perceived taxation would not affect intake. If SSB prices were to increase further via a higher tax, participants would consider substituting SSB with other beverages, namely home-made drinks (e.g. 100 % fruit juices), non-caloric, instant-flavoured drinks and water.

These findings provide important insights into the views of this sample of Mexican adolescents regarding the taxation of SSB, by pointing out several possible limitations of the tax policy in Mexico. These results could inform the design of future interventions directed at Mexican youth that would complement and strengthen the current SSB taxation.