Children's lives are reduced to zero without tax on sugar, warn experts

Two public health experts have warned that a "political will" to introduce a tax on sweetened beverages is needed because of a growing epidemic of obesity that will drive WA children to live shorter lives than their parents.

Ashley Reid, Executive Director of the Cancer Council WA, and Jonathan Carapetis, Director of the Telethon Kids Institute, say evidence of damage from sugary drinks and junk food is indisputable.

"With overweight and obesity leading to premature death from heart disease, diabetes and 13 types of cancer, we can no longer afford to blame each individual for this alarming public health problem," they said. written in an article of opinion.

They believe that last week's release of the report of the federal Senate inquiry into "The Australian Obesity Epidemic" should trigger a tax on sweetened beverages.

The report contained 22 recommendations, including a tax, which Reid and Carapetis say are being thwarted by the "vested interests" of sugar beverage companies concerned about a "negative impact".

"A tax on sweetened drinks, applied alongside other strategies, is a sensible way to dramatically reduce the consumption of these drinks, which provide no nutritional value and contribute to excessive weight gain," they said. declared.

The latest figures show that nearly two-thirds of adults in Western Australia and a quarter of the state's children are overweight or obese. Health Minister Roger Cook claimed a tax on sweetened beverages but said it needed to be implemented at the federal level.

Mr. Reid and Dr. Carapetis stated that these drinks were the largest source of added sugar in the diet of children under 16 and that most children drank at least one sweet drink a day.

"The evidence is not lacking," they said. "What is needed is the political will to get there.

"We must ensure that decisions are made without the undue influence of industry groups holding an irreconcilable conflict of interest."

The Senate committee's report called for the creation of a national obesity working group and argued that a tax on sweetened beverages would impose changes on the industry.

"This will force the food industry to further reformulate its products (and) to focus on producing and marketing much healthier products," the report says.