SynthesisThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2019
Political and public acceptability of a sugar-sweetened beverages tax: a mixed-method systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of sugar taxation policies in Asia and Africa: a systematic review.Frontiers in oral health · 2025Pooled it
- An umbrella review of the acceptability of fiscal and pricing policies to reduce diet-related noncommunicable disease.Nutrition reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Acceptability of policies targeting dietary behaviours and physical activity: a systematic review of tools and outcomes.European journal of public health · 2022Pooled it
- Communicating evidence about the environment's role in obesity and support for government policies to tackle obesity: a systematic review with meta-analysis.Health psychology review · 2022Pooled it
- Taxation of unprocessed sugar or sugar-added foods for reducing their consumption and preventing obesity or other adverse health outcomes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- The effects of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax and a nutrient profiling tax based on Nutri-Score on consumer food purchases in a virtual supermarket: a randomised controlled trial.Public health nutrition · 2022Trial
- Understanding Research Approaches to Assess Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxation Policy Implementation and Response in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Results From a Scoping Review.Nutrition reviews · 2026Article
- Free Sugars Consumption and Type 2 Diabetes: What Are the Concerns and How Strong is the Evidence?Current nutrition reports · 2026Review
- Article
- Beyond the sugar tax: public acceptability of a comprehensive food policy bundle in urban Ghana.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Article
- Evaluating sugar-sweetened beverage tax effects: online price and sales data from grocers in Canada.Health promotion international · 2025Article
- New health taxes in Ghana: a qualitative study exploring potential public support.Health policy and planning · 2025Article
- Consumption of Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) and Breast Cancer: A Narrative Review.Iranian journal of public health · 2025Review
- Are food taxes for healthy eating acceptable? A survey of public attitudes in the UK.BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Examining public support for comprehensive policy packages to tackle unhealthy food environments.Public health nutrition · 2024Article
- Article
- Article
- Public acceptability of proposals to manage new takeaway food outlets near schools: cross-sectional analysis of the 2021 International Food Policy Study.Cities & health · 2024Article
- Public acceptance of default nudges to promote healthy and sustainable food choices.BMC public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTaxation of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), as a component of a comprehensive strategy, has emerged as an apparent effective intervention to counteract the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity. Insight into the political and public acceptability may help adoption and implementation in countries with governments that are considering an SSBs tax. Hence, we aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize the existing qualitative and quantitative literature on political and public acceptability of an SSBs tax.
methodsFour electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science) were searched until November 2018. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Qualitative studies were analyzed using a thematic synthesis. Quantitative studies were analyzed using a random-effects meta-analysis for the pooling of proportions.
resultsThirty-seven articles reporting on forty studies were eligible for inclusion. Five themes derived from the thematic synthesis: (i) beliefs about effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, (ii) appropriateness, (iii) economic and socioeconomic benefit, (iv) policy adoption and implementation, and (v) public mistrust of the industry, government and public health experts. Results of the meta-analysis indicated that of the public 42% (95% CI = 0.38-0.47) supports an SSBs tax, 39% (0.29-0.50) supports an SSBs tax as a strategy to reduce obesity, and 66% (0.60-0.72) supports an SSBs tax if revenue is used for health initiatives.
conclusionsBeliefs about effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, appropriateness, economic and socioeconomic benefit, policy adoption and implementation, and public mistrust of the industry, government and public health experts have important implications for the political and public acceptability of an SSBs tax. We provide recommendations to increase acceptability and enhance successful adoption and implementation of an SSBs tax: (i) address inconsistencies between identified beliefs and scientific literature, (ii) use raised revenue for health initiatives, (iii) communicate transparently about the true purpose of the tax, and (iv) generate political priority for solutions to the challenges to implementation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.