Imposing sugar tax a necessary measure in SA

SOUTH AFRICA’S planned sugar tax has come under severe scrutiny from parliamentarians. The questions they’re grappling with are whether the country needs a tax, and how effective it will be.

The tax is planned to take effect on April 1. It is designed to reduce sugar intake from sugar-sweetened beverages by upping the price with a 20% fiscal tax. The health authorities’ plan to issue a sugar tax must not be seen in isolation. It’s part of the South African National Department of Health’s strategic plans to prevent and control non-communicable diseases and obesity.

These strategies have set the ambitious target of reducing obesity by 10% by 2020. And they include salt-reduction legislation, trans-fat regulations, and stricter label and advertising regulations.

The reality is that introducing the sugar tax is necessary because of the scourge of non-communicable diseases and obesity in the country. It is not unusual for populations that modernise as a result of socio-economic development to have changes in their dietary patterns.

But the move from traditional foods to more processed and convenience foods is linked to weight gain and an increased risk of developing diet-related non-communicable diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

Non-communicable diseases have become the leading cause of death in low and middle-income countries, and South Africa has the highest rates of overweight and obese adults in Africa. Nearly one in every seven South African women is affected. And 40% of deaths from non-communicable conditions among men occur before they turn 60.

In its second National Burden of Disease study, the SA Medical Research Council found that by 2010, non-communicable diseases had become one of the top causes of death in the country. They accounted for 39% of all deaths, putting them on par with HIV/Aids and TB combined. The World Health Organisation predicts that by 2020, these diseases will account for 80% of the global burden of disease.

The number of overweight and obese children in South Africa has increased from 1.4% in 1994 to more than 15% in 2004. And the obesity phenomenon has come about before South Africa is able to win the battle against undernutrition.

In the next 10 years, it is estimated that the global non-communicable disease burden will increase by 17%. In Africa, this figure will be closer to 27%. Globally, governments are being forced to pay more attention and intensify their actions against these diet-related diseases.

By implementing the sugar tax, South Africa is simply paying heed to its international commitments.

Schönfeldt is an Associate Professor of Human Nutrition at the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Wellbeing, University of Pretoria. This article first appeared in