Children shun gym’s soft drinks after 20p sugar levy

SALES OF sugary drinks fell by 30 per cent when a chain of leisure centres added a 20p charge to sweetened beverages in South Yorkshire.

Gym operator SIV introduced the charges in its cafes and vending machines as part of measures to help tackle obesity and is using the cash raised to fund educational projects.

The initiative was studied by researchers at the University of Sheffield who found that the biggest impact was on sales of sugary drinks marketed to children.

Professor Liddy Goyder, who led the research, said: “This is hugely important when considering the current focus on reducing childhood obesity in the UK.

“The 20p price increase seems to have made parents think more about the choices they were making when buying drinks for their children.”

The study, which also involved health charity Sheffield City Trust, which runs the SIV gyms, and Sheffield City Council, found that the 20p charge removed 1.3 tonnes of sugar from the city, the equivalent of more than five million calories.

Andrew Snelling, chief executive of SIV, said: “Childhood obesity rates are on the rise, bringing with it a multitude of health risks.

“As a health and wellbeing charity, we couldn’t stand by without taking action which is why we chose to implement this initiative, raising a significant fund to invest in educational programmes.”

The research follows the introduction of a national sugar tax on soft drinks which has seen some manufacturers change their recipes to make products more healthy.

The Government’s Health Select Committee also recommended banning children’s cartoon characters from junk food advertising and restrictions on sales of unhealthy snacks at supermarket checkouts.