[ad_1]
Photo credit : Photo Archive – Eric Guertin
Sugar is not the cause of the "epidemic" of obesity in Quebec and elsewhere, and taxing more sugared beverages, as regularly claimed by some groups, is doomed, shows a publication launched today by the MEI.
"Quebec and the rest of Canada, as well as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, among others, have all experienced an increase in obesity and diabetes in recent years. However, sugar consumption has decreased. "Taxing sugar" is a catchy slogan, but it remains a simplistic solution to a complex problem, "explains Mathieu Bédard, MEI economist and author of the publication.
In addition, Quebeckers and other Canadians consume less and less sweetened beverages, and those they consume contain less and less sugar. Sugar consumption in general has also declined over the past decade, after having increased almost steadily since the early 1990s. Despite this, the rate of obesity continues to rise, and today it is one-third of the country's population.
"Several clinical studies have shown that sugar in itself is nothing special that would slow down or cancel weight loss during a diet. It is consuming too many calories, whatever their origin, which makes you fat, "says Mathieu Bédard.
The problem of taxes on foods that are too sweet, salty or greasy is the same as for all taxes. When you tax a product, the behaviors change, and people substitute their consumption of one good for that of another. There is no badurance, however, that the replacement product will be better for the health than the targeted product.
"If, despite the tax, people continue to consume too many calories, this public policy will have no effect. It will however have increased the price of the products, which is particularly pernicious for the less well-off. And if the total consumption of sugar is little or not affected, it is even worse, since such a policy can not even pretend to improve public health, "says Mathieu Bédard.
In this sense, adequate education in healthy eating, as well as advocating for more physical activity to combat obesity, are more appropriate alternatives to taxing sugar. Fortunately, this opinion seems to be shared by the new Minister of Education, who recently confided in an interview that she wanted to encourage the physical activity of young people rather than taxing junk food.
The MEI is an independent think tank on public policy. Through its publications and its interventions, the MEI feeds the debate on public policies in Quebec and across Canada by proposing reforms based on the principles of the market economy and entrepreneurship.
[ad_2]
Source link
