An increasing number of studies have reported that increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with weight gain, obesity and diabetes. The use of an additional tax is one of the strategies being used to address poor food choices. This study investigated how price changes would have an impact on consumption and health outcomes. The data were derived from the CARDIA Study which is a 20-year longitudinal study that included 5,115 participants at baseline. The authors found that the price of soda and away-from-home foods decreased during the last 20 years (after adjusting for inflation), while the price of whole milk increased. Furthermore, an increase in the price of soda and pizza was associated with a significant decrease in daily energy intake from these foods, lower weight, and lower HOMA-insulin resistance scores over the 20-year study period. Thus, policies to implement the use of surcharges on sweetened beverages and highly processed foods may be effective to increase the consumption of more healthy alternatives and consequently reduce long-term weight gain or insulin levels over time. In their comment, Katz MH and Bhatia R supported the use of surcharges on unhealthy foods by presenting several arguments. They mentioned the fact that even though drinking sugar-sweetened beverages does not cause harm to all, it is at the population level that it causes significant harm and substantial medical costs. Moreover, they proposed subsidizing agriculture of healthful foods such as fruits and vegetables instead of corn culture and creating sufficiently densed, mixed-income communities to generate enough demand to support markets supplying fresh foods. Thus, they proposed that changes in behavior will result from changes in the environment.
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