ֱ̽ of Cambridge - Nina Rogers /taxonomy/people/nina-rogers en UK ‘sugar tax’ linked to fall in child hospital admissions for tooth extraction /research/news/uk-sugar-tax-linked-to-fall-in-child-hospital-admissions-for-tooth-extraction <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/dentist-428645-1280.jpg?itok=o7c3im0A" alt="Child receiving dental treatment" title="Child receiving dental treatment, Credit: Michal Jarmoluk (Pixabay)" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>In a study published today in <em>BMJ Nutrition, Prevention &amp; Health</em>, researchers at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge found that the levy may have reduced the number of under-18s having a tooth removed due to tooth decay by 12%.  ֱ̽largest reductions were in children aged up to nine years old.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Sugar-sweetened drinks account for around 30% of the added sugars in the diets of children aged one to three years and over a half by late adolescence. In England, nearly 90% of all tooth extractions in young children are due to decay, resulting in around 60,000 missed school days a year.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> ֱ̽World Health Organization has recommended a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks to reduce sugar consumption, which more than 50 countries have implemented. In March 2016, the UK Government announced a soft drinks industry levy or ‘sugar tax’, which aimed to reduce sugar intake by encouraging drinks manufacturers to reformulate their products. ֱ̽levy was implemented in April 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>While the relationship between sugar-sweetened drinks and tooth decay is well established, no studies have used real-world data to examine the relationship between the levy and dental health.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>To address this, the researchers analysed hospital admissions data for tooth extractions due to tooth decay in children up to 18 years old in England from January 2014 to February 2020. They studied trends overall as well as broken down by neighbourhood deprivation and age groups.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Overall, in children aged 18 and under, there was an absolute reduction in hospital admissions of 3.7 per 100,000 population per month compared to if the soft drinks levy had not happened. This equated to a relative reduction of 12% compared to if the levy had not been introduced.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Based on a population of nearly 13 million children in England in 2020, the researchers estimated that the reduction avoided 5,638 admissions for tooth decay. Reductions in hospital admissions were greatest in younger children aged up to four years and among children aged five to nine years, with absolute reductions of 6.5 and 3.3 per 100,000 respectively.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Dr Nina Rogers from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at the ֱ̽ of Cambridge, the study’s first author, said: “This is an important finding given that children aged five to nine are the most likely to be admitted to hospital for tooth extractions under general anaesthesia.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>No significant changes in admission rates for tooth decay were seen in older age groups of 10–14 years and 15–18 years. However, reductions in hospital admissions were seen in children living in most areas regardless of deprivation.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As this is an observational study and because there was no comparable control group, the researchers cannot say definitively that the soft drinks levy caused this reduction in tooth decay. They acknowledge that other national interventions such as the sugar reduction programme and compulsory nutrition labels alongside the levy may have raised public awareness of sugar consumption and influenced buying habits.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Nevertheless, they conclude that their study “provides evidence of possible benefits to children’s health from the UK soft drinks industry levy beyond obesity which it was initially developed to address.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Professor David Conway, co-author, and professor of dental public health at ֱ̽ of Glasgow added: “Tooth extractions under general anaesthesia is among the most common reason for children to be admitted to hospital across the UK. This study shows that ambitious public health policies such as a tax on sugary drinks can impact on improving child oral health.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p> ֱ̽research was funded by the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em><strong>Reference</strong><br />&#13; Rogers, N T et al. <a href="https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/6/2/243">Estimated impact of the UK soft drinks industry levy on childhood hospital admissions for carious tooth extractions: interrupted time series analysis.</a> BMJ Nutrition Prevention &amp; Health; 14 Nov 2023; DOI:10.1136/bmjnph-2023-000714</em></p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>Adapted from a press release from the BMJ.</em></p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p> ֱ̽UK soft drinks industry levy introduced in 2018 may have saved more than 5,500 hospital admissions for tooth extractions, according to an analysis by researchers at the ֱ̽ of Cambridge.</p>&#13; </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">This is an important finding given that children aged five to nine are the most likely to be admitted to hospital for tooth extractions under general anaesthesia</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote-name field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Nina Rogers</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/dentist-dental-care-patient-doctor-428645/" target="_blank">Michal Jarmoluk (Pixabay)</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-desctiprion field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Child receiving dental treatment</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License." src="/sites/www.cam.ac.uk/files/inner-images/cc-by-nc-sa-4-license.png" style="border-width: 0px; width: 88px; height: 31px;" /></a><br />&#13; ֱ̽text in this work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ֱ̽ of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.  All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-license-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Licence type:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/imagecredit/public-domain">Public Domain</a></div></div></div> Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:00:45 +0000 Anonymous 243181 at Sugary drinks tax may have prevented over 5,000 cases of obesity a year in year six girls alone /research/news/sugary-drinks-tax-may-have-prevented-over-5000-cases-of-obesity-a-year-in-year-six-girls-alone <div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img class="cam-scale-with-grid" src="/sites/default/files/styles/content-580x288/public/news/research/news/gettyimages-1267027788-web.jpg?itok=4trc7Ie3" alt="Child&#039;s hands pouring a drink into a glass" title="Child&amp;#039;s hands pouring a drink into a glass, Credit: ti-ja (Getty Images)" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p> ֱ̽study, published today in <em>PLOS Medicine</em>, looked at the impact of the levy on reception age children and those in year six, but found no significant association between the levy and obesity levels in year six boys or younger children from reception class.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> ֱ̽research was supported by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medical Research Council.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Obesity has become a global public health problem. In England, one in ten reception age children (four to five years old) is living with obesity and this figure doubles to one in five children in year six (10 to 11 years). Children who are obese are more likely to suffer from serious health problems including high blood pressure, type II diabetes and depression in childhood and in later life.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In the UK, young people consume significantly more added sugars than is recommended – by late adolescence, they typically consume 70g of added sugar per day, more than double the recommended amount (30g). A large source of this is sugar-sweetened drinks. Children from deprived households are more likely to be at risk of obesity and to be heavy consumers of sugar-sweetened drinks.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In April 2018, to protect children from excessive sugar consumption and tackle childhood obesity, the UK governments introduced a two-tier sugar tax on soft drinks – the soft drinks industry levy. ֱ̽tax was targeted at manufacturers of the drinks to incentivise them to reduce the sugar content of soft drinks.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the ֱ̽ of Cambridge tracked changes in the levels of obesity in children in England in reception year and year six between 2014 and 2020. Taking account of previous trends in obesity levels, they compared changes in levels of obesity 19 months after the sugar tax came into effect.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> ֱ̽team found that the introduction of the sugar tax was associated with an 8% relative reduction* in obesity levels in year six girls, equivalent to preventing 5,234 cases of obesity per year in this group alone. Reductions were greatest in girls whose schools were in deprived areas, where children are known to consume the largest amount of sugary drinks – those living in the most deprived areas saw a 9% reduction.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>However, the team found no associations between the sugar tax coming into effect and changes in obesity levels in children from reception class. In year 6 boys, there was no overall change in obesity prevalence.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Dr Nina Rogers from the MRC Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge, the study’s first author, said: “We urgently need to find ways to tackle the increasing numbers of children living with obesity, otherwise we risk our children growing up to face significant health problems. That was one reason why the UK’s soft drinks industry levy was introduced, and the evidence so far is promising. We’ve shown for the first time that it is likely to have helped prevent thousands of children each year becoming obese.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“It isn’t a straightforward picture, though, as it was mainly older girls who benefited. But the fact that we saw the biggest difference among girls from areas of high deprivation is important and is a step towards reducing the health inequalities they face.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Although the researchers found an association rather than a causal link, this study adds to previous findings that the levy was associated with a substantial reduction in the amount of sugar in soft drinks.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Senior author Professor Jean Adams from the MRC Epidemiology Unit said: “We know that consuming too many sugary drinks contributes to obesity and that the UK soft drinks levy led to a drop in the amount of sugar in soft drinks available in the UK, so it makes sense that we also see a drop in cases of obesity, although we only found this in girls. Children from more deprived backgrounds tend to consume the largest amount of sugary drinks, and it was among girls in this group that we saw the biggest change.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>There are several reasons why the sugar tax did not lead to changes in levels of obesity among the younger children, they say. Very young children consume fewer sugar-sweetened drinks than older children, so the soft drinks levy would have had a smaller effect. Similarly, fruit juices are not included in the levy, but contribute similar amounts of sugar in young children’s diets as sugar-sweetened beverages.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>It’s unclear why the sugar tax might affect obesity prevalence in girls and boys differently, however, especially since boys are higher consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages. One explanation the researchers put forward is the possible impact of advertising – numerous studies have found that boys are often exposed to more food advertising content than girls, both through higher levels of TV viewing and in how adverts are framed. Physical activity is often used to promote junk food and boys, compared to girls, have been shown to be more likely to believe that energy dense junk foods depicted in adverts will boost physical performance and so are more likely to choose energy-dense, nutrient-poor products following celebrity endorsements.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> ֱ̽study was a collaboration involving researchers from the ֱ̽ of Cambridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, ֱ̽ of Oxford, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and ֱ̽ of Bath.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>*A relative reduction is the difference between the expected incidence of obesity had the sugar tax not been introduced and the actual incidence.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em><strong>Reference</strong><br />&#13; Rogers, NT et al. <a href="https://journals.plos.org:443/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004160">Associations between trajectories of obesity prevalence in English primary school children and the UK soft drink industry levy: an interrupted time series analysis of surveillance data.</a> PLOS Med; 26 Jan 2023; DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004160</em></p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-summary field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p> ֱ̽introduction of the soft drinks industry levy – the ‘sugary drinks tax’ – in England was followed by a drop in the number of cases of obesity among older primary school children, according to Cambridge researchers. Taking into account current trends in obesity, their estimates suggest that around 5,000 cases of obesity per year may have been prevented in year six girls alone.</p>&#13; </p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">We urgently need to find ways to tackle the increasing numbers of children living with obesity, otherwise we risk our children growing up to face significant health problems. That was one reason why the UK’s soft drinks industry levy was introduced, and the evidence so far is promising</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-content-quote-name field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Nina Rogers</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-credit field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/childs-hands-pouring-a-drink-into-a-glass-royalty-free-image/1267027788?phrase=cola girl" target="_blank">ti-ja (Getty Images)</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-desctiprion field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Child&#039;s hands pouring a drink into a glass</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-cc-attribute-text field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" rel="license"><img alt="Creative Commons License" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" style="border-width:0" /></a><br />&#13; ֱ̽text in this work is licensed under a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ֱ̽ of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.  All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our <a href="/">main website</a> under its <a href="/about-this-site/terms-and-conditions">Terms and conditions</a>, and on a <a href="/about-this-site/social-media/connect-with-us">range of channels including social media</a> that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.</p>&#13; </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-show-cc-text field-type-list-boolean field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Yes</div></div></div> Thu, 26 Jan 2023 19:00:11 +0000 cjb250 236431 at