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/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PTSD - A Psychodynamic Explanation

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder which you may develop after being involved in, or witnessing, traumatic events. The condition was first recognised in war veterans and has been known by a variety of names, such as 'shell shock'. PTSD can develop immediately after someone experiences a disturbing event, or it can occur weeks, months or even years later. Its estimated to affect about 1 in every 3 people who have a traumatic experience, but it's not clear exactly why some people develop the condition and others do not. There are many theories that could be used to explain this condition. Psychodynamic approaches to PTSD focus on a number of different factors that may influence or cause PTSD symptoms, such as early childhood experiences, current relationships and the things people do to protect themselves from upsetting thoughts and feelings that are the result of experiencing a traumatic event. The psychodynamic approach focuses mainly
Read more

Disparities in Global Eye Care

Vision is one of our most precious possessions. Multiple polls globally show that most people are more fearful of becoming blind than losing any other sense. (1,2) With sight being such a valuable asset, one would assume that eyecare is at the forefront of medical services across the world. Living in the developed world, we perhaps take for granted the simple and yet crucial services available to us such as regular eye tests, glasses, contact lenses and high-quality ophthalmic care - most of which can be accessed for free or at a subsidised price. However, in many parts of the world this is not the case. 285 million people worldwide are visually impaired, with 90% being from developing countries. (3) In China, for example, levels of blindness are increasing each year, however critically, rates of blindness have been reported at up to 4 times higher in the developing world as compared to more economically developed countries (4, 5). This is particularly worrying given that around 80% of
Read more

Do Contact Lenses Really “Support Your Vision”?

Image
Contact lenses have been frequently used as an alternative to glasses. Compared to the heavy-framed glasses in front of one’s eyes (optic glasses), thin plastic discs on the eye (contact lenses) help correct refractive errors in both myopic and hypermetropic users. The lens’ shape and power can be tailored to the user’s sight. A concave lens can be used to decrease myopia by reducing light refraction and increasing focal length so that the image is formed on the retina (1)  (Figure 1). Alternatively, a convex lens can be used to limit hypermetropia in an opposing mechanism to concave lenses (1) (Figure 1). Figure 1, An illustration of myopia and hyperopia and how adding lens of different shapes in front of the eye can be used to alter the refraction of light and correct each impairment in vision (10) Besides supporting sight, which both types of lenses can do, contact lenses confer some advantages that make them preferable to glasses. Unlike glasses, contact lenses are less likely to f
Read more