New Research Finds That Taxes On Sugary Drinks Reduces The Risk Of Unhealthy Weight Gain And Gestational Diabetes Among Pregnant Women
According to a new study conducted by UC San Francisco, having taxes on sugary drinks actually reduces the risk of unhealthy weight gain and gestational diabetes among pregnant women.
The recently published research, which included over 5 million women, is the first study to analyze how sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes impact the health of moms and children both before and after birth.
The researchers ultimately compared mothers who lived in cities that had no SSB taxes to mothers who lived in cities that had active SSB taxes while pregnant. And they not only found that SSB taxes drastically lower the risk of unhealthy weight gain and diabetes but there was also a reduced risk of delivering a small fetus.
“All three of these outcomes are important for health later in life, for both the mother and child,” explained Justin White, the study’s senior author.
“If you can reduce risk at this key developmental stage, it can have long-lasting health benefits.”
Among the general public, sugar-sweetened beverages have been linked with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. And SSBs also represent the largest added sugar source among pregnant women.
According to the researchers, pregnant women eat about 50% more calories from added sugars than is advised.
The team utilized national birth certificate data of over 5.3 million U.S. pregnant women and their children to conduct the study from 2013 to 2019. During this period, there were five cities with SSB taxes– Berkeley, Philadelphia, Oakland, Seattle, and San Fransisco.
These cities were used for comparisons against dozens of other cities that did not have SSB taxes.
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The taxes were ultimately linked with a nearly 8% reduced risk of unhealthy gestational weight gain, a 41.4% lower risk of developing gestational diabetes, and a 39.1% lower risk of small infant birth for gestational age.
During the study, the researchers did control for city-level and demographic factors that may have accounted for variations– including socioeconomic status, race, and retail environment.
The results also revealed that SSB taxes did not impact body mass index (BMI) or blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as preterm status or low birthweight of infants.
Approximately 50 nations have chosen to implement SSB taxes over the last decade, with studies finding that the taxes have aided the reduction of sugary beverage consumption. But, research on the health impacts is still limited.
“It can be challenging to measure the effects of sugary drink taxes on health outcomes like type 2 diabetes, which can take decades to develop,” White said.
“But showing that we can improve health during the relatively short, and critical, window of pregnancy– and thus have lifelong health effects for the mother and child– makes a strong policy argument for these taxes.”
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, visit the link here.
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