re. sugar in squash/soft drinks?

[A580Hojas]

Aibu to think the change in the law on this will not have an impact on obesity rates?

Afaik the changes have been in place a few years now. Are there any demonstrable statistics on improvement in public health?

It would be pretty difficult to draw a direct correlation, however one can't really argue against there being a benefit.

I imagine cost of living and impact on diets is probably pushing things back the other way in a more material manner right now

I just think kids shouldn't have squash with every drink anyway. All the substitutes they have instead of sugar are dreadful in different ways.

I'd personally rather drink real sugar than the sweeteners!

And also obesity is a complex thing - a lot of it comes from poor eating, not over eating. Stuff like processed food rather than fresh. You get a lot more calories in a pound of chips than a pounds worth of carrots, for example. Fresh produce is expensive and takes cooking, unlike processed stuff that can be quickly heated in the oven

I wouldn't mind if it was just a sugar tax and there was an option of paying more, but so many companies have replaced sugar with sweetener. It's impossible to get a sweetener free soft drink in a lot of pubs these days.

I. Think drive through fast food has a much greater impact on obesity tbh.

All I can say is it’s costing me a lot more money!

I'd happily pay the sugar tax for a bottle of real Ribena. Sadly this no longer exists so I have to buy a super premium brand that costs me at least twice as much and I actually don't like as much.

I also drink more alcohol when out as sweetener free drinks in pubs and restaurants are now a rarity and I'm very bored with bottled water.

I drink coke when out no sweetners tastes as drinks used to. Drink Belvoir cordial at home or fresh lime and water.

I would prefer natural sugar than chemicals to be honest.
Since the 'ban' I seek out squash that uses fruit derived sugars rather than fake stuff.

It's also making life difficult for diabetics like my mum - we were out recently and her sugars dropped. Nipped into a small shop and all they had was sugar free drinks!

Agree, the sugar tax has been a real pain for diabetics. Sure there are other hypo treatments, but they tend to be more expensive and for those times you get caught out it can be much harder to find a drink that’s not replaced the sugar with alternatives.