Taxing sweetened drinks decreases consumption in lower-income households by 50%, study finds

Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages decreases lower-income households purchasing of them by nearly 50%, which could present a strategy to further reduce health disparities, new research has found.

The study , published late last month by the University of Washington , sought to identify the impact of the eight U.S. cities that have started taxing sweetened drinks like energy drinks, sports drinks and carbonated sodas. Cities included in the study were Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Philadelphia, though other northern California areas, Boulder and Washington, D.C. also tax sweetened beverages.

After looking into the purchasing behaviors of 400 households for a year before and after their city's tax was implemented, the researchers found that lower-income households — which consume sweetened beverages at a higher-than-average rate, per previous studies — bought nearly 47% fewer after the tax, while higher-income households decreased their purchases of the products by 18%.

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Previous research from the UW showed that lower-income households paid around the same amount toward the sweetened beverage tax as higher-income households, meaning they spent a higher proportion of their income in addition to typically purchasing higher amounts of the products.

The result of the study, researchers said, may lead to further taxing decisions pointed toward promoting healthier choices among consumers, as UW research also showed the tax was associated with a drop in childhood body mass index in Seattle.

"Together, this body of work suggests the tax is having the intended health benefits, and this new evidence gives reason to believe health benefits could be larger for households with lower incomes,” said Jessica Jones-Smith, co-author and UW professor of health systems and population health.

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Various studies have shown Americans eat and drink too many added sugars, and sugar-sweetened beverages are the leading source of added sugars in the U.S., according to the CDC . Plus, some research has shown that drinking these sugars instead of eating them delivers more sugar to organs like the pancreas and liver than they can handle, which can overload them over time. This compounds sugar's effects in leading to health problems like obesity, type 2 diabetes and liver and heart disease.

"If households reduce their sugar intake, they will experience health benefits," said Melissa Knox, co-author and UW associate teaching professor of economics. "Sweetened beverages... have all kinds of health consequences and don't really provide any nutrition. The idea with the tax is that lower-income people, because they reduce their intake more, receive greater health benefits than the higher-income households."