United Kingdom: the fight against sugar continues

In the United Kingdom, many actions have already been taken to limit excess sugar consumption.

However , the PHE report indicates that the population’s sugar consumption is still far from meeting the various health recommendations. These excesses are harmful to health and the PHE has therefore considered various actions that could be taken in the United Kingdom in 2015, in order to continue the fight against these excesses.

The report, made public, will indeed serve as a point of support in order to better guide the government and the NHS (National Health Service, equivalent to our Ministry of Health in France).

UK: The state of sugar consumption

People in the UK are consuming more sugars than current recommendations would suggest. These current recommendations (which date from 1991, defined at the time by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food ) , indicate that sugar should not exceed 10% of energy intake. This averages out to 11-14 teaspoons of sugar on average.

This excessive consumption has direct consequences in terms of obesity and overweight. In the UK more than 2/3 of adults are overweight. The report states that obesity-related illnesses together cost nearly £11 billion each year (€13.7 billion).

For the 11-18 age group, sugar consumption represents on average 15.4% of energy intake. This is too much and for this age group this is partly explained by excessive consumption of sodas ( which represent on average 30% of sugar intake ), sweets (13% of sugar intake) and fruit juices. fruit (10% of sugar intake). For the other age groups, sugar consumption varies from 11.2% to 14.7%.

In adults, sugar is also present in alcoholic beverages (representing 10% of sugar intake on average).

PHE plans and recommendations

The PHE report is relatively comprehensive (32 pages) on the sugar issue.

The recommendations at the end of the report are varied, some are a continuation of what is already in place in the country:

• Launch a new ‘ 5 a day ‘ campaign which is actually similar to our French ‘ 5 fruit and veg a day ‘ campaign (this kind of campaign already exists in the UK, but the report says a renewal is needed).
• Update the “ Change4Life ” campaign. This campaign proposes to make certain replacements, in his life, in order to improve it. One change can be enough and have strong impacts. For example, the campaign recommends replacing consumption of sugary drinks with water: a change that has a real impact on health. In January 2014, the promotion of this campaign had been very strong (advertising in many media, etc.) and had led to an 8.6% drop in purchases of sugary sodas (compared to January 2013).

Others are new actions or avenues that could be explored:

• Immediately launch a campaign of new informative messages (digitally as well as on the radio) specifically based on reducing sugar consumption.
• Better regulate advertising messages for sweet products. Advertising messages can in fact direct consumers towards unhealthy eating habits.
• Better regulate promotions within stores, as well as the various associated packages. This type of promotion can, like advertising messages, too easily direct consumers towards an excess of sugar.
• Better regular portion sizes of sweet foods. Like, for example, giant sodas in cinemas (“supersizing” size indicates the report) or even certain sweets.
• Explore tax levers . It could be a “sugar tax” as some countries have already considered.

These lists are not exhaustive, the report mentioning many more or less important recommendations.

Why is reducing your sugar intake important?

The report specifies that there are 2 fundamental reasons which should push to reduce its consumption of sugar.

• Obesity , sugar representing, in fact, a significant caloric intake. Calories which, when they are not eliminated, are a cause of overweight.
• Oral health . Less commonly mentioned when talking about excess sugar, the study nevertheless reminds us that sugar is the cause of dental problems. 1/3 of people aged 50 in the UK have decaying teeth.

The United Kingdom is taking action at all scales to reduce excesses. For example, the government had succeeded in getting Coca-Cola to reduce the number of calories in the famous drink ” Sprite ” by 30%. The levers already in place today in the United Kingdom are at various levels:

• International. Like, for example, existing quotas in the EU to guarantee a high price for sugar.
• National. The “Change4Life” campaign being a good example. Just like the “5 a day” campaign ( 5 fruits and vegetables a day )
• Local. Hospitals are complying with GBSF standards for collective catering.
• Industrial. Mars, for example, has agreed to limit its chocolate bars to 250 calories in the country. The example of the Sprite (read below) is also part of this desire to modify the products of manufacturers.

This report by the PHE therefore leaves no doubt about the future of the recommendations that will be made to the government: the fight against excess sugar must continue, and even be amplified.