Tax on sugary drinks ‘not justified’, nutrition expert says

Reducing sugar intake is not a “magic bullet” to combating obesity and the introduction of a sugar tax is not justified, a leading nutrition expert has told a Dublin conference.

Prof Luc Tappy, of Lausanne University in Switzerland, said the contribution of sugar towards the development of obesity and insulin resistance remains to be proven.

Speaking today at a food industry sponsored conference, he questioned whether sugar contributes to obesity more than other substances. There were a lot of “open questions” in relation to the role of sugar and more research was needed.

“Any nutrient which gives rise to excess energy when consumed will be associated with obesity. In my opinion, there is nothing to suggest sugar is responsible for this problem more than other substrates.”

He said ethical issues arose in relation to the proposed introduction of a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks. Such a tax measure forcing people to change their behaviour for health reasons could be justified only if there was a “strong feeling” it was going to work.

However, at present the evidence for doing this wasn’t there, he told the conference organised by the Nutrition and Health Foundation, an Ibec organisation. “If you look at the overall results, they are far from what you’d want to achieve.”

Prof Tappy said it was quite legitimate that there were concerns about levels of sugar consumption. These are at the highest levels in history, and they coincide with high levels of metabolic diseases.

He said claims sugar was “poison” or toxic were unsupported by the evidence. “I’m also concerned by people who try to promote extreme diets with no sugar or carbohydrates. These are not sustainable in the long term.”

Prof Tappy acknowledged the role of sugar in causing dental caries and said this was one reason the World Health Organisation had recommended limiting intake.

Derek Reilly, head chef with Sodexo Ireland, which provides catering in 200 locations across the country, outlined the measures his company had introduced to encourage healthy eating. These include the use of rapeseed oil in cooking, serving steamed vegetables and not automatically providing butter with jacket potatoes and grilled sausages.

Sodexo does not routinely provide salt cellars on tables and has removed creams from soups. Calorie labelling has been introduced at 60 per cent of sites.

Mr Reilly said customers tended to go for healthier options earlier in the week but towards Friday they eased off and opted for more traditional offerings such as burgers.