ArticlePublic health nutrition2021
Assessing sugar-sweetened beverage intakes, added sugar intakes and BMI before and after the implementation of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in South Africa.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness and Feasibility of Interventions for Weight Management of Young Adults in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs): A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- The Healthy Aging Adult South Africa report card: a systematic review of the evidence between 2013 and 2020 for middle-aged South African men and women.Cardiovascular journal of AfricaPooled it
- Factors Influencing Water and Sweet Beverage Purchasing Decisions and Behaviours Among Low-Income Households in Four Peri-Urban Communities in Accra: An Exploratory Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- (Un)sweetened deal? Young people's views on the South African Health Promotion Levy and food in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- A prospective analysis to assess the multifactorial risk of childhood-onset hypertension: the ExAMIN Youth SA study.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2025Observational
- Examining the Role and Strategies of Advocacy Coalitions in California's Statewide Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Debate (2001-2018).American journal of health promotion : AJHP · 2024Article
- Adherence to '5-2-1-0' guidelines and multiple risky behaviours among adolescents in nine sub-Saharan African countries: evidence from Global School-based Student Health Survey 2012-2017.BMJ nutrition, prevention & health · 2023Article
- Decomposing consumer and producer effects on sugar from beverage purchases after a sugar-based tax on beverages in South Africa.Economics and human biology · 2022Article
- South Africa's Health Promotion Levy: Excise tax findings and equity potential.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2021Review
- Towards unified and impactful policies to reduce ultra-processed food consumption and promote healthier eating.The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo provide insight into the context and public health implications of the South African sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax (Health Promotion Levy; HPL) by describing SSB and added sugar intakes, as well as BMI, 1 year prior to, at the time of and 1 year after implementation of the HPL.
designLongitudinal dietary intake was assessed using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ) and BMI was measured via anthropometry.
settingSoweto, Johannesburg, South Africa.
participantsAdolescents, young adults and middle-aged adults (n 617).
resultsAt baseline, median SSB intakes were 36 ml/d, 214 ml/d and 750 ml/d for those in low, medium and high consumption tertiles, respectively. SSB intake decreased by two times/week in medium consumers and seven times/week in high consumers between baseline and 12 months, equivalent to 107 ml/d and 536 ml/d reductions, respectively. These reduced levels were maintained in the following year (i.e. to 24 months). There was an overall decrease in the amount of energy consumed as added sugar in the low (-48 kJ/d), medium (-153 kJ/d) and high (-106 kJ/d) SSB consumption groups between baseline and 24 months; however, the percentage of total energy consumed as added sugar remained relatively consistent (between 10 and 11 %). There were small overall increases in BMI across low (0·6 kg/m2), medium (0·9 kg/m2) and high (1·0 kg/m2) SSB tertiles between baseline and 24 months.
conclusionsThese findings suggest reductions in SSB and added sugar consumption contemporaneous to the introduction of the HPL - particularly for those with higher baseline intakes.
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