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A new study reveals that labels revealing added amounts of sugar in food products could allow the health care system to save $ 31 billion and avoid nearly a million new cases. of illness. These nutrition labels could help prevent more than 350,000 cases of heart disease and 600,000 cases of type 2 diabetes.
The impact could double if warning labels cause food and beverage manufacturers to reduce their intake of added sugars.
The forecasts appear in a study published by researchers at Tufts University. The research follows the US Food and Drug Administration's 2016 decision to start requiring food manufacturers to disclose added sugars on nutrition labels. The new label is expected to start appearing on food labels as of January 1, 2020. Small food manufacturers will receive an extra year to comply.
Corresponding author Renata Micha, Ph.D., of Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, said she and her colleagues wanted to quantify the impact of change on public health.
"Our results indicate that rapid labeling of added sugars could reduce the consumption of foods and beverages containing added sugars, which could then lead to improved health and reduced intakes. spending on health care, "she said.
The study is based on a validated microsimulation model that uses representative data on dietary and dietary intakes to provide a picture of how change could affect behavior over a 20-year period from 2018 to 2037. The new rule was to come into force in 2018, but food manufacturers were extended by two years.
In addition to preventing 354,400 cases of cardiovascular disease and 599,300 cases of diabetes mellitus, the study found that the population would gain 727,000 life-years adjusted for quality and save $ 31 billion in health care costs. This is a significant reduction in health spending, although Micha and colleagues noted that spending on cardiovascular disease and diabetes was already very high. They write that the direct and indirect costs of diabetes to the health system are $ 245 billion a year and that cardiovascular disease costs $ 555 billion.
However, Micha pointed out that the actual total cost savings are likely to be well above the $ 31 billion in the study, with only two broad categories of diseases.
"Our findings could be conservative and underestimate the overall health and economic impacts," she said.
Martin O'Flaherty, MD, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the University of Liverpool and lead author of the study, said the public reacted positively if he received useful information about what he ate.
"Informing consumers of what's in their sugary drinks, their cakes and sweets will help them decide what they want to eat for their health now and later," O'Flaherty said in a statement. press. "Full implementation of the label by 2021 could help maximize the health and economic benefits."
Micha pointed out that labels could also have the effect of forcing manufacturers to reformulate their products in order to reduce the amount of added sugar in the product and on the label.
"A modest reformulation of the sector would be a powerful way to maximize the potential benefits, highlighting the critical role of the sector as part of the solution," she said.
The study titled "Profitability of the United States Food and Drug Administration's Added Sugar Labeling Policy for Improving Diet and Health" was published in the American Heart Association Journal. circulation.
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