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What's on the Menu? Policies to Reduce Young People's Sugar Consumption

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  • Rachel Griffith
  • Martin O'Connell
  • Kate Smith
  • Rebekah Stroud

Abstract

Young people in the UK consume far above the maximum recommended levels of added sugar. It is likely that neither they nor their parents fully take account of the future health, social and economic costs of this high sugar consumption. This provides a rationale for policy intervention. The majority of young people's added sugar consumption occurs in the home, where purchases are typically made by parents. This means that understanding the purchase decisions of adults is important for policy design, even if the policies aim to reduce the consumption of young people. We discuss the merits of popular policies, including taxes, advertising restrictions and restrictions on the availability of specific foods, and we identify promising avenues for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Rachel Griffith & Martin O'Connell & Kate Smith & Rebekah Stroud, 2020. "What's on the Menu? Policies to Reduce Young People's Sugar Consumption," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(1), pages 165-197, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:fistud:v:41:y:2020:i:1:p:165-197
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-5890.12194
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    Cited by:

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    2. Thomas Eichner & Marco Runkel, 2022. "Non-Paternalistic Foundation of Sugar Taxation and Missing Markets for Sugar Content," CESifo Working Paper Series 9583, CESifo.
    3. Rachel Griffith, 2022. "Obesity, Poverty and Public Policy," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(644), pages 1235-1258.
    4. Di Cosmo, Valeria & Tiezzi, Silvia, 2023. "Let them Eat Cake? The Net Consumer Welfare Impact of Sin Taxes," MPRA Paper 116214, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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