With more than a quarter of its citizens living with obesity, South Africans are among the top 20 percent of the most obese nations in the world. Around one in eight South African adults – more than 4.5 million people – have diabetes. It was these statistics that persuaded the Parliament of South Africa in 2018 to support a health promotion levy – a tax on sugary drinks.
It was hoped the tax would help to address the diabetes epidemic and the high rates of obesity that were believed to be behind it.
Statistics released this year have shown that South Africans are buying 28 percent less sugary drinks alongside a fall in the sugar and calorie intake of the population.
Under the levy sugar manufacturers are charged a fee of 2.1 cents per gram of sugar per 100 ml. This has pushed producers to cut the sugar in their soft drinks to avoid the tax, and to push up the price increases onto consumers by hiking retail prices. The combination of the two is linked to the reduction in sugar intake in the country by nearly a third.
Advocacy Action: Check this link for WHO data on obesity rates around the world.