To think Jamie Oliver shouldn't be so smug about getting artificial sweeteners in ribena

[jnfrrss]

www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/may/01/sugar-fat-junk-obsesity-uk-hugh-jamie-parliament-health-committee

He's calling it beautiful that the sugar tax that he campaigned and persuaded the government to implement "a beautiful thing" as ribeana has half the sugar now. But it's still just as sweet as it's been replaced with artifical sweeteners so don't see how its improving anything, could be making it woorse.

The reason we need this disincentive to buy sugary drinks is because they have stopped being occasional treats, birthdays, Christmas etc and become an every day item.

Then again they don't have celebrity chefs wasting parliamentary time showboating.

This exactly! The evidence was very weak and lots of evidence saying replacing with artifical sweetneners doesn't help anyone.

The government just did what they thought it would be popular. The fawning over JO and other celebs started back in Blair's time and still continues.

pointing out that you, the masses, need to be policed by the government because you're too stupid to know what's good for you

Well yes, that is the problem basically. Yes there are health problems and financial constraints etc that contribute to obesity but it’s mostly just caused by bad choices.

Anything that reduces the strain on the nhs is a good thing - completely agree but there's no evidence from anywhere that health has been impacted positively by a sugar tax.
It's been sold as an anti obesity solution but when questioned these anti sugar parasites will bleat on about reducing consumption (Mexico is the favourite for this but new stats show consumption remained static before and after the tax) and avoid the non existent health benefits accrued.

' Yes there are health problems and financial constraints etc that contribute to obesity but it’s mostly just caused by bad choices.'

It's caused by a number of factors besides 'bad choices', but that default is by far the easiest for others to continue to showboat and point fingers and call for increasing interference from the state who are not interested in fairness or even public health as increasing levels of child poverty and decreased levels of social mobility continue to demonstrate.

Anything that reduces the strain on the nhs is a good thing.

And replace it with strain on the social care system because we live longer?

We’re all going to die and most of us are going to cost the state money getting there.

It might increase the strain on the NHS if they do contribute towards dimentia more than sugar. Not totally ridiculous judging by the amount of people that get headache from them.

The sensible thing to do would be to reduce sugar by a couple of percent every year for a decade. But all MPs and Jamie want is good headlines and quick fixes.

All the other talking in their session was the same old "tackling obesity" rhetoric that's been spoken about for at least the last two decades.

Don't get me started on Professor Rev Mark Raynor, in his blog about a tax, he said: “In all of this I see a sacred dimension. You may not believe that I have heard God aright but I think God is calling me to work towards the introduction of soft-drink taxes in this country.
Guess who gets to help decide if a tax he lobbied for at the behest of God has worked!
Still think JO is worse tho 😉

Anything that reduces the strain on the nhs is a good thing - completely agree but there's no evidence from anywhere that health has been impacted positively by a sugar tax.

Mexico’s sugar tax appears to be having a significant impact for the second year running in changing the habits of a nation famous for its love of Coca-Cola, and will encourage countries troubled by obesity and contemplating a tax of their own.link here
Source: Guardian

The above is a very interesting read.

Just because you can type a search term into Pubmed does not give you the slightest clue how to interpret the papers,
I can interpret microbio papers just fine and the data I see makes me concerned enough to avoid artificial sweeteners (also, they taste aweful). I have worked on microbial consortia long enough to know how even tiny changes in carbon sources can affect the community. I might be wrong of course and it might all turn out fine and obesity/diabetes rates will drop but I'm doubtful.

Surely we should be reducing our intake of overly processed sugary foods full stop.

Not encouraged to eat the same levels by substituting in fake sugar.

It is like “low fat” options. Instead of eating less cake, people think they can just eat more of a low fat option. Which, in actual fact, is probably worse for you.

Plus we need more time to be able to exercise. Instead so many people are stuck in long hours jobs, stuck in schools where they’re worrying about tests and targets which leaves little time to get out and move.

More movement = more exercise = a healthier population.

Instead the government introduces a nonsense sugar tax which has an inbuilt protection for company profits - they can just stick fake sugar in instead!

I hope JO and HF-W tackle added salt next.

Stock cubes, crisps, mayo, cooking sauces, processed breakfast cereals, MaccieD and other fast-food takeout joints etc. nearly all contain so much salt they taste vile. It's shocking and unhealthy too that there is so much hidden salt in food especially when it's aimed at children.

Mexico, a sugar tax. Shouldn't they be more concerned with the fact that major parts of their country are no-go areas for anyone and their soaring murder rate due to cartels taking control of vast expanses of their country?

Wish they would leave things as they are, artificial sweetners are more harmful, and the aspartme they put in. Sit down and shut up Mr Oliver, sanctimoneous git.

Mexico, a sugar tax. Shouldn't they be more concerned with the fact that major parts of their country are no-go areas for anyone and their soaring murder rate due to cartels taking control of vast expanses of their country?

Rather off-topic. No?

Well im sure this will help

www.expressandstar.com/news/2018/05/02/cruel-cuts-put-children-at-risk---claim/

I’m not convinced the real problem is sugar anyway. I think the problems are threefold.

We live in a very time short society and most of us are no longer required to do physical labour at work and the housing crisis means far fewer people have gardens.

We’re time poor so people buy easy stuff like ready meals which are crap in this country. If you go to France you can really easily get cheap ready meals which are a bit of salmon, spinach and tomatoes or an prawns with a little pasta and vegetable. That stuff is just not available here unless it has a whacking great premium price tag.

We need to get employers providing exercise opportunities in the workplace - you can use pedal machines under your desk while working or exercise classes held after work or at lunch. Tax incentives could be offered to employers who participate.

Regarding childhood obesity, it’s no secret the housing young families are in is inferior to the past. Lots of children have no access to a garden so they are more likely to be stuck in doors playing computer games if their parents are pottering about with housework etc. And with full time working parents and unpredictable weather the park isn’t as accessible as an alternative.

It's sweetness we're addicted to, rather than sugar perse, which is why the manufacturers have replaced sugar with sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners taste shit.

I don't often buy fizzy drinks or cordials, so will now need to hunt out classic red coke, and Schwepps will now lose out to Fevertree when it comes to a G&T.

I do like the idea of Ribena Less Sweet. Let's hope the powers that be at Ribena are reading this!

YY Mightymucks In the early 80s when i was at primary school there was no homework. It was all done at school.

ive seen many complaints on here about the amount of homework primary kids get now.

The high salt levels are to mask the low quality of the ingredients in most processed food.
DH can't have salt in his diet at all now and so I have started to buy slightly better quality food over the last 9 months and the difference is pretty obvious.

Its been phased in slowly over the last couple of decades (a bit like the boiling frog analogy) if parents had been expected to sit down with their primary school children circa 1982 and help with homework and this had happened overnight a lot of parents would have said "hang on i pay taxes for you to educate my kids why am i doing it" Thats why things like this have been phased in slowly over time.

Back in the early 80s after school meant kids got to go out to play and excersise. Not homework which parents have to help with in a lot of cases using up time that could be used for kids to go out and play.

The obsession with SATS at a young age is ridiculous.

NewYear2018 Mexico's NIPH finally released the stats for sugary drinks consumption. Tax introduced July 2014, consumption per capita adjusted for population changes etc.:
2007-2013 160 litres
2014 162 litres
2015 161 litres
And as I mentioned the tax is supposed to improve health, that article didn't have anything to do with health just incorrect consumption data.

'Mexico, a sugar tax. Shouldn't they be more concerned with the fact that major parts of their country are no-go areas for anyone and their soaring murder rate due to cartels taking control of vast expanses of their country?

Rather off-topic. No?'

No, not when you consider the shocking state of their country aside from obesity. Government there more worried about that than the fact more and more of their children are being killed and enslaved by the drug industry, but hey, you know, as long as they're not drinking Coke, just snorting it instead .

I've just come from a hospital café. They didn't sell any sugary drinks... However they sold a large number of sugary cakes and you could put as much sugar as you like in tea/coffee.

It seems to me that putting it on soft drinks-which then just put in artificial sweeteners, which have different health risks, is a bit of an arbitrary toss into the ring. Why not cakes? Biscuits? Or sugar in general?

I hope JO and HF-W tackle added salt next.

No I don't, it will just be another botched fix that doesn't do anything but waste time and distract people.

I want celebrities and their egos to just stay out of politics and for the mps to stop giving them so much time.