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How Could Taxes on Sugary Drinks and Foods Help Reduce the Burden Of Type 2 Diabetes?

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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Taxes on sugary drinks and foods have emerged as a key strategy to counteract the alarming levels of diabetes worldwide. Added sugar consumption from industrialized foods and beverages has been strongly linked to type 2 diabetes. This review provides a synthesis of evidence on how taxes on sugary products can influence the onset of type 2 diabetes, describing the importance of the different mechanisms through which the consumption of these products is reduced, leading to changes in weight and potentially a decrease in the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

Recent Findings

Observational studies have shown significant reductions in purchases, energy intake, and body weight after the implementation of taxes on sugary drinks or foods. Simulation studies based on the association between energy intake and type 2 diabetes estimated the potential long-term health and economic effects, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, suggesting that the implementation of sugary food and beverage taxes may have a meaningful impact on reducing type 2 diabetes and complications.

Summary

Public health response to diabetes requires multi-faceted approaches from health and non-health actors to drive healthier societies. Population-wide strategies, such as added sugar taxes, highlight the potential benefits of financial incentives to address behaviors and protective factors to significantly change an individual’s health trajectory and reduce the onset of type 2 diabetes worldwide, both in terms of economy and public health.

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Funding

This work was funded by a Bloomberg Philanthropies grant (71206 to JAR; https://www.bloomberg.org/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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  1. Center for Population Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Avenida Universidad 655, Santa María Ahuacatitlán, 62100, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico

    Alan Reyes-García, Isabel Junquera-Badilla, Tonatiuh Barrientos-Gutiérrez & Ana Basto-Abreu

  2. CONACYT – Center for Health and Nutrition Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico

    Carolina Batis

  3. Center for Health Systems Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico

    M. Arantxa Colchero

  4. Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    J. Jaime Miranda

  5. CRONICAS Center of Excellence in Chronic Diseases, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú

    J. Jaime Miranda

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  1. Alan Reyes-García
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Correspondence to Ana Basto-Abreu.

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Reyes-García, A., Junquera-Badilla, I., Batis, C. et al. How Could Taxes on Sugary Drinks and Foods Help Reduce the Burden Of Type 2 Diabetes?. Curr Diab Rep 23, 265–275 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-023-01519-x

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