The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has increased substantially over the past several decades and is associated with increased risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. One of the proposed solutions for reducing the intake of these beverages is taxation. This health report cites the data concerning the consumption trends around the globe of sugar-sweetened beverages and the relationship between the intake of these beverages and body weight. Findings of longitudinal studies indicate a significant positive association between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity as well as with the risk of type 2 diabetes. This paper also explains the mechanisms linking sugar-sweetened beverages with poor health such as the elevation of triglycerides levels and of blood pressure and the lowering of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, which are recognized to increase the risk of coronary heart disease. The high intake of sugar also increases the risk of diabetes by causing insulin resistance. The excessive weight gain associated with the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages can be explained in part by the apparently poor satiating properties of sugar consumed in liquid form and also by the fact that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages can be observed in the absence of hunger, to satisfy thirst or for social reasons. Several arguments are developped in this report to justify taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages. There is a clear science based link between the consumption of these beverages and the risk of chronic diseases. In addition, such a tax would provide substantial revenues to create programs for obesity prevention and to address the excessive health care costs from diseases related to poor diet. Finally, the authors point out that the opposition to a tax by the beverage industry is not surprising and underlines the fact that they believe that a tax would have a significant impact on consumption.
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