NUTRITION & HEALTH
Could the fitness and food industries work together to promote healthier options?
schools and workplaces; introducing zoning ordinances to limit the number of fast-food outlets and stores in low- income communities and around schools; restricting sales of sugary products during school hours; setting a lower age limit of 17 on the purchase of such products; banning TV advertising of such products to children; and introducing a ‘sugar tax’ on all foods containing added sugar. In the US, there have been numerous attempts by state and city authorities in recent years to introduce just these kinds of measures – ranging from a penny-per-ounce tax on soft drinks to marketing restrictions on sugar-laden foods – though almost all have come to nothing when faced with the vast lobbying power of Big Food. Earlier this year, however, the anti-sugar advocates gained a small but significant victory when New York’s mayor Michael Bloomberg successfully introduced a ban on the sale of super-sized soft drinks across the city. Meanwhile, in Europe, a soft drink tax approved by the French government is approaching its first birthday. These measures may sound draconian, but Mills for one is convinced that nothing less will have the desired effect of reversing the world’s downward
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spiral into obesity and chronic disease. “Collaboration with the food industry is all very well in theory, but history shows that self-regulation just doesn’t work,” he says. “Do we allow tobacco companies to self-regulate? No. It’s one of those areas where governments have to lead for the greater good of society.”
TO TAX OR NOT TO TAX? One of the thorniest issues in the debate is whether or not a sugar tax is a workable idea. Mills has no doubt it’s the only way forward and believes it’s a cause the fitness industry has a duty to get behind. “If you look at tobacco, education programmes and smoking bans are great, but it’s tax that has made the difference,” he says. “Research shows that every 10 per cent increase in the price of cigarettes causes a four per cent drop in consumption.”
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But unlike tobacco, sugar is found in
so many products, including staple items as well as junk food. Isn’t there a danger that, instead of incentivising people to give up sugary foods or motivating food companies to reformulate their recipes, the cost of such a tax will merely be passed onto the consumer? Mills admits it requires careful thought. “There’s a lot of detail that needs to be looked at, such as whether you tax the core ingredient or tax it at a retail level, and what kind of levels you set in terms of sugar content – but it’s do-able,” he says. However, not everyone accepts this argument. “The evidence for food taxes is limited,” says Jebb. “Most data comes from modelling studies, not actual experiments. These suggest that, if people behave in a totally rational way, then a tax would reduce intake, but with such complex behaviour as eating and with so many
November/December © cybertrek 2012
© NITR/
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
© ROBERT KNESCHKE/
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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