Study Finds Reducing Sugar Could Avoid Nearly 500,000 Deaths | 2021-09-01

BOSTON – A study published on August 27 in Circulation showed that reducing the sugar of packaged foods by 20% and drinks by 40% could prevent 2.48 million cardiovascular events such as strokes, heart attacks and cardiac arrests, 490,000 cardiovascular deaths and 750 cases of diabetes in the United States during the lifetime of the current adult population.

“We hope this study will help advance the reformulation initiative in the next few years,” said Siyi Shangguan, MD, senior author and attending physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “Reducing the sugar content of commercially prepared foods and beverages will have a greater impact on the health of Americans than other initiatives to reduce sugar, such as imposing a tax on sugar, l ‘labeling of added sugar content or the ban on sugary drinks in schools. “

The National Institutes of Health funded the study.

A team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene created a model to simulate and quantify the health, economic and equity impacts of a sugar reduction policy proposed by the US National Salt and Sugar Initiative, which published targets for food and beverages packaged in 15 categories in 2018.

“The NSSRI policy is by far the most carefully designed and comprehensive yet achievable sugar reformulation initiative in the world,” said Dr Shangguan.

The model incorporated national demographic and dietary data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) over three cycles (2011-16), added sugar-related illnesses from meta-analyzes, as well as as political costs and health-related costs. A nationally representative simulated US population was created and followed to age 100 or death, with 2019 as the start of the intervention.

The United States, according to the study model, could save $ 4.28 billion in total net health costs 10 years after the sugar reduction policy was put in place and $ 118.04 million on the lifespan of the current population, or that of 35 to 79 years. The sugar reduction policy could become profitable in six years. The largest estimated health gains could come from black and Hispanic adults as well as low-income, less-educated Americans.

“Our results suggest that it is time to implement a national program with voluntary sugar reduction targets, which can generate major health improvements, health disparities and health spending in less time. a decade, “said Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, senior co-author and dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.