A Sweeter Way to Better Health

Sugar: although a sweet way to entice the taste buds, it often lacks the right nutritional values when supplemented into certain products. Yes... a balanced diet is crucial, meaning that certain amounts are acceptable in daily consumption. Yes… it is a big ask to cut out our favourite treats completely. Yes… as an ingredient, it can be of benefit to the environment because it is manufactured without the use of pesticides and other harmful products. However, it is vital that we regulate the intake due to potential health implications. Obesity: affecting over 15 million people in the UK alone, it is becoming a growing problem due to the development of fast-food chains and easy on the go treats. This week on Universal Medicine, we will be looking at how the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) is planning to tackle this impeding problem with the introduction of a sugar tax.

Daily intake sources for children aged 11 to 18
The pie-chart compares the sources of added sugar for children aged 11-18, collated from the National Diet & Nutrition Survey 2013-2014. As shown, soft drinks are the biggest contributor of added sugar in this age range. Targeting the problem at the root, the implementation of a sugar tax - due to start in April 2018 - will tax companies based on the sugar content of drinks. The projection is that reducing the sugar content of the sweetest drinks by 1/3 and 15% from mid-sugar drinks could result in 140,000 fewer children and adults with obesity.
Certainly, this marks a start to addressing the problem but there is still a long way to go to eradicate the obesity of more than 15 million people in the UK alone. Another notable area is the retail of confectionaries. These small steps now could lead to a large positive stride for health care…

We would love to hear your opinion on the proposed introduction of the sugar tax in 2018.
The Universal Medicine team wishes you all a very Merry Christmas and have a prosperous new year. Tune in again in 2017 for another great post!

Written by Gagandeep Sachdeva
Universal Medicine

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38330114 (pie chart obtained from this site too)

http://www.sugarhistory.net/sugar-facts/health-benefits-of-sugar/ 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/soft-drinks-industry-levy-12-things-you-should-know 

https://www.themedicportal.com/weekly-news-summary-19th-december-2016/

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