New Delhi, September 1: Increased consumption of sugary drinks is causing global health problems like Type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and tooth decay. A new study suggests replacing these drinks with water to prevent such issues.
Researchers from Virginia Tech, US, evaluated national dietary guidelines from countries with sugar beverage taxes imposed between 2000 and 2023. They analyzed how well these guidelines promote water over sugary drinks like soda.
The study found that choosing water reduces the risk of obesity and other health problems. Governments can use these findings to improve hydration guidelines and discourage sugary drink consumption by enhancing message clarity and visual content.
Out of 93 countries considering sugar beverage taxes in 2023, 58 had dietary standards. Among these, 48 promoted water consumption and discouraged sugary drinks.
Researchers rated countries on a scale from 0 to 12, assessing visual content, activities, reasoning, accessibility, specificity, and clarity. The US received a score of 7, while Bolivia, Peru, and Brunei scored the highest.
Nicole Leary, the lead researcher, stressed the need for tax policies to align with dietary guidelines that promote water and other healthy beverages to support policy coherence and normalize water as the default choice.
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