Lauren Bandy, the lead researcher of the study, and her colleagues looked at the nutritional information of a range of sugary drinks in the UK, including concentrates, carbonated rinks, 100% juice, energy drinks, juice drinks, bottled water, sports drinks and more, combined this with sales data from the years 2015 to 2018.
There has been a lot of pressure on the industry to reduce the sugar content of soft drinks and in April 2018, the British government introduced SDIL or Soft Drinks Industry Levy to help tackle the childhood obesity problem.
Bandy stated that the study is not made to know and evaluate the specific effects of the SDIL. In fact, it just shows that sustained pressure on business, including using fiscal measures, has led to a striking and fast reduction in the sugar content of soft drinks in the UK.
Sugary drinks and obesity
The research was published in BMC Medicine, and it shows that soft drink companies in the UK are now making a sizeable contribution to sugar reduction, with 8 out of the top 10 companies reducing their sugar content in their products by 15% or more.
The top two companies, Britvic and Coca-Cola, had reduced the total quantity of sugars that they sold in drinks by at least 17% and 26% respectively. Even though the sugar content of their flagship brands Pepsi and Coca-Cola remained unchanged. There were also increases in the volume sales of sugars in drinks that are sold by Red Bull and Innocent, the sugar content of their products was unchanged, but the companies had seen increases in their overall volume sales.
The analysis of the study shows that almost three-quarters of the reduction, or 73%, seen in the amount of sugar that was sold in soft drinks was because of the reformulation of existing products or the introduction of new, lower-sugar drinks and the 27% was because of the changes in purchasing behavior.
Lauren Bandy, the lead researcher stated that it is encouraging to see such a massive reduction in sugars that are sold in soft drinks. This is a result of a change in the overall composition of drinks but there have also been some changes in the purchasing behavior of the consumer purchasing, with more people buying drinks with low or no sugar content.
These types of changes are due to government action, usually through the SDIL, changes in marketing practices of the soft drinks industry and because of the greater awareness about the harms caused by sugary drinks among the public. They show that it is indeed possible for improvements in public health to be consistent with successful business practices.
The co-author of the research and a professor of Diet and Population Health at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences in the University of Oxford, Susan Jebb, said that national and international governments are now calling for a change in the food industry in order to improve public health. This is a new method that allows researchers to monitor the progress that is being made and to make this information available to the public. This scrutiny will encourage more positive and fast action by the food industry in order to achieve better and healthier diets.
Alternatives to sugary drinks
There are numerous alternatives to soft drinks. If you wish to quit sugary drinks and are looking for something healthy, you can go for green tea, sparkling water, veggie juice, coconut water, and fruit-infused water.
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