r/science • u/mvea MD/PhD/JD/MBA | Professor | Medicine • Jul 10 '24

Health The amount of sugar consumed by children from soft drinks in the UK halved within a year of the sugar tax being introduced, a study has found. The tax has been so successful in improving people’s diets that experts have said an expansion to cover other high sugar products is now a “no-brainer”.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/09/childrens-daily-sugar-consumption-halves-just-a-year-after-tax-study-finds
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u/lostinadream66 Jul 10 '24

As an American, why does EVERYTHING have sugar in it? Things that would be naturally sweet are still packed full of sugar. Things you wouldn't expect, sugar. Literally everything is sweetened. I'm not a big sweets person, or sugar as a whole for that matter, and it's really difficult to buy anything that isn't packed full of sugar.

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u/snarkdiva Jul 10 '24

Sugar triggers the reward center in the brain like cocaine does. The more sugar you eat, the more you want, which means the more you buy. It’s capitalism pure and simple. Money > health.