{"id":45533,"date":"2019-09-04T21:50:29","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T20:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=45533"},"modified":"2019-09-11T17:37:54","modified_gmt":"2019-09-11T16:37:54","slug":"susan-jebb-and-theresa-marteau-can-evidence-refute-instincts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/04\/susan-jebb-and-theresa-marteau-can-evidence-refute-instincts\/","title":{"rendered":"Susan Jebb and Theresa Marteau: What next for fiscal interventions to prevent obesity?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"standfirst\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The success of the sugary drinks tax has shifted public opinion, policy makers need a more open-minded approach to evidence, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">say Susan Jebb and Theresa Marteau<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/2a622254-a152-11e9-974c-ad1c6ab5efd1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">editorial in the <em>Financial Times<\/em><\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on 8<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> July 2019 John Thurnhill argued that Boris Johnson\u2019s instincts on so-called \u201csin taxes\u201d may be right and we should avoid \u201cneedless government intervention\u201d but that in the case of sugary drinks the benefit of fiscal intervention is clear. The soft drink levy has greatly accelerated the reformulation of sugary drinks and led to a marked change in consumer behaviour, through greater awareness of the health harms of sugary drinks, shifts in the availability and marketing of soft drinks as well as the impacts of price rises on purchasing behaviour, together leading to marked reductions in the sugar consumed in drinks. [1] But this direct evidence of effectiveness has only accumulated in the aftermath of the policy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The challenge for public health is that for new policies to be introduced requires a more open-minded approach to the nature of evidence<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2060\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">combining plausible mechanisms, modelling and case-studies from other countries or similar scenarios. So, what might be the next steps for fiscal interventions to prevent obesity?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At present diverse voices are proposing an assortment of new measures<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2060\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ranging from extending the soft drink industry levy (SDIL) to milkshakes or fruit juice through to a meat tax to encourage more sustainable eating habits. We conducted <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/366\/bmj.l4786\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the first modelling exercise<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of the likely impact on BMI and the prevalence of obesity of a price rise in three sets of high-sugar snacks; confectionery, biscuits, and cakes. [2] We estimated that increasing their price by 20% would lead to fewer high-sugar snacks being purchased, with consequent reductions in BMI of a magnitude more than double the modelled impact of a similar price rises in sugary drinks. The effects were also greatest in low-income households classified as obese, suggesting that such a price rise would have greatest benefit amongst households where obesity rates are highest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To date, public policy to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply has relied heavily on reformulation. It\u2019s worked well for sugary drinks, where reformulation to produce very similar, but low sugar products results in a highly acceptable alternative. But the same is not so for many other high sugar snacks, especially confectionary, and the only real option to cut sugar is for people to eat less. Previous efforts to encourage smaller portions have decreased the size of individual bars of chocolate, but coincided with the growth of so-called &#8220;sharing bags&#8221; with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/709008\/Sugar_reduction_progress_report.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">no evidence of any substantive decrease in overall consumption<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. [3] It\u2019s time for a new approach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Price rises on unhealthy products<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2060\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2060\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">are some of the most effective, but least popular interventions for improving health. [4] However, there has been an interesting shift in attitudes to taxing sugary drinks with the majority of respondents <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/1471-2458-13-756\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">in a recent survey<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> supporting its introduction when the proceeds were to be used to improve children\u2019s health. [5] Hypothecation it is argued increases the acceptability of fiscal policies. [6] Or the shift in attitudes may reflect a growing awareness of the threat that obesity poses to health, particularly that of children. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/366\/bmj.l4786\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The evidence we present here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2060\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">that price increases on high sugar snacks could be effective in tackling obesity<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2060\u2014<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/31326778\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">could increase public support<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for policy action. [7]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The views of the public and policy-makers will also be shaped by the words and actions of those who produce high-sugar snacks. Business in general oppose such measures since profits will be hit by the introduction of fiscal policies to reduce consumption. Voluntary targets to encourage reformulation or reductions in portion size also impose costs on businesses and are likely to disadvantage the companies who take the most decisive action. Businesses committed to improving diet quality and tackling obesity should welcome interventions that create a level playing field across the market to address overconsumption of high sugar snacks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The evidence is stacking up, but it remains to be seen when it will overcome the natural instincts of business and policymakers to let the market shape what we eat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/09\/susan_jebb.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-43111\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/09\/susan_jebb.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"159\" height=\"149\" \/><\/a>Susan Jebb<\/strong> is a nutrition scientist and professor of diet and population health in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. She is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) senior investigator and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. She leads the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) and Collaboration and Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) Oxford themes on diet and obesity. Her research programme focuses on dietary interventions that might be effective to help people lose weight or reduce the risk of obesity related diseases.<\/em><br \/>\n<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Competing interests:<\/strong><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/366\/bmj.l4786\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> See accompanying\u00a0research paper<\/span><\/i><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2018\/09\/27\/interventions-treat-obesity-work-why-not-celebrating\/\">previous opinion piece<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-45536 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2019\/09\/head-shot-2017.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"171\" height=\"143\" \/><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Theresa Marteau<\/b>\u00a0is Director of the B<\/span><\/i><i style=\"font-size: 1rem\">ehaviour and Health Research Unit in the Clinical School at <\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the University of Cambridge, and Director of Studies in Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at Christ\u2019s College, Cambridge. Her research interests include:\u00a0development and evaluation of interventions to change behaviour (principally diet, tobacco and alcohol consumption) to improve population health and reduce health inequalities, with a particular focus on targeting non-conscious processes;\u00a0risk perception and communication, particular of biomarker-derived risks, and their weak links with behaviour change; and\u00a0acceptability to publics and policy makers of government intervention to change behavior. Current research in her group is funded by Wellcome Trust.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Competing interests:<\/strong> <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/content\/366\/bmj.l4786\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">See accompanying\u00a0research paper<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>References<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">HM Treasury. The soft drinks industry levy. 2018.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Scheelbeek PFD, Cornelsen L, Marteau TM, Jebb SA, Smith RD. Impact on the UK prevalence of obesity of a 20% price increase on high-sugar snacks: A modelling study. BMJ.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Public Health England (2018). Sugar reduction and wider reformulation programme:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Report on progress towards the first 5% reduction and next steps. Accessed at: https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/709008\/Sugar_reduction_progress_report.pdf<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bloomberg MR, Summers LH, Ahmed M, et al. Health taxes to save lives: employing effective excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary beverages: the Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health. New York: Bloomberg Philanthropies, 2019.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Diepeveen S, Ling T, Suhrcke M, Roland M, Marteau TM. (2013)\u00a0Public acceptability of government intervention to change health-related behaviours: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">BMC Public Health<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">; 13:756; 10.1186\/1471-2458-13-756<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sassi F. Global public health challenges, fiscal policies and yellow vest. Lancet, 2019; 393:745-746<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reynolds, J. P., Archer, S., Pilling, M., Kenny, M., Hollands, G. J., &amp; Marteau, T. M. (2019). Public acceptability of nudging and taxing to reduce consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and food: A population-based survey experiment. <i style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Soc Sci Med<\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, 112395 doi:10.1016\/j.socscimed.2019.112395<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The success of the sugary drinks tax has shifted public opinion, policy makers need a more open-minded approach to evidence, say Susan Jebb and Theresa Marteau [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2019\/09\/04\/susan-jebb-and-theresa-marteau-can-evidence-refute-instincts\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[223],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-bloggers"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Susan Jebb and Theresa Marteau: What next for fiscal interventions to prevent obesity? 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