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You have full access to this article via your institution. Download PDF Amies-Cull B, Briggs A, Scarborough P. Estimating the potential impact of the UK government's sugar reduction
programme on child and adult health: modelling study. _BMJ_ 2019; 365: l1417. THE COST SAVINGS ON TREATMENT OF DISEASE ARE CONSIDERABLE. Childhood obesity affects 10% of children aged 4−5,
20% of children aged 11−12 and adult obesity has risen from 15% in 1993 to 26% in 2016. In an attempt to reduce these figures, the UK government introduced a target reduction of 20% by 2020
of the sugar content of confectionery, cereals and other morning goods by encouraging reformulation of products, reducing portion size and encouraging the use of low sugar alternatives.
Using a modelling technique, the potential effects of this reduction on obesity and consequently on non-communicable disease such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease were estimated. If
the target is met then the authors estimate obesity will be reduced by about 5% across the majority of age ranges, leading to 155,000 fewer cases of type 2 diabetes over a ten-year period.
There would be significant savings in health care costs and the authors suggest that structural public health approaches such as this are effective at improving population health. The
consequences for dental health are not mentioned. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Honorary Teaching Fellow, University of Portsmouth Dental Academy, Portsmouth, UK Paul Hellyer
Authors * Paul Hellyer View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Paul Hellyer. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS
Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Hellyer, P. Less sugar = fewer obese children and adults. _Br Dent J_ 226, 857 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-019-0456-7
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