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Author: Zukiswa Zimela

Fighting stunting and obesity with food

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

Non-profit organisation (NPO), Meals on Wheels Community Services South Africa is dedicated to providing wholesome dishes to impoverished people in Limpopo.

Meals on Wheels Limpopo area director, Mpho Rantsoabe says the organisation combats stunting and obesity in communities because the meals they serve are well-balanced.

Fighting for health

According to Grow Great, a campaign working on raising awareness about stunting, one in four South African children under the age of five are stunted.

Meals on Wheels says stunted children, on average, perform worse in school than their non-stunted counterparts, are more likely to be unemployed as adults, are at higher risk of getting diseases like diabetes and hypertension, and are vulnerable to being trapped in inter-generational cycles of poverty.

“By serving a balanced meal, we’re combating stunting and obesity, which are caused by not eating the right food or lack of it,” says Rantsoabe.

“Obesity [can be] caused by eating [junk food]. What we do is that we serve a balanced meal. [By doing so], we are fighting obesity and combating stunted growth, which is caused by a lack of essential nutrients in the body.

We train our project leaders and volunteers so they can serve a balanced meal and not just serve food for the sake of serving food.”

Beyond the plate 

Rantsoabe says they also run developmental skills projects such as arts and crafts and agricultural projects to address food security.

“In Thohoyandou, we [provide] the same people we are feeding with agricultural skills. They also fundraise for the project [so they are] able to look after themselves. We have a poultry and vegetable project.

In all our centres we encourage them to be engaged in developmental skills. Due to lack of land, not all our centres have an agricultural project but there are those who do recycling, knitting, sewing, and physical activities, especially [for] the elderly people. It differs to centre to centre depending on the resources available,” he says.

Making a difference 

Pensioner, Nyawasedza Magadze (79) from Thohoyandou says the project assisted her to increase her activity levels and stay away from alcohol.

“The centre is helpful because they feed us with nutritious [food] every day. We do farming, sewing and a lot of activities so that we can stay alive,” says Magadze. “I used to drink a lot of traditional beer but now I have reduced it because I got many things to do. I even play soccer.”

Rantsoabe says the centre only caters to impoverished people who are unemployed, living with disabilities, and pensioners.

“The need out there is far greater than we can offer. In the future, we would like to build more facilities, but at the moment we are limited by funds. If we are able to raise more funds we would be able to expand in the province.”

Most of the centres operate Monday to Friday and some offer two meals a day while others offer meals three times a week due to lack of resources.

Meals on Wheels was founded by the late Dr Denis Baird in 1964, serving 16 meals with one vehicle to the community of Duncanville in East London. Today, there are over three hundred branches in the country, with nine in Limpopo. – Health-e News 

Hidden dangers in food marketed to children

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

Salt, sugar, fat – these are the predominant ingredients in foods that are advertised to children, a study shows.

Worldwide the prevalence of childhood obesity and its related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have increased dramatically and South African children are part of these concerning statistics.

The figures 

“Prevalence of overweight in children (2-14 years) in the country amounts to 16.5% in girls and 7.1% in boys, with obesity contributing to a further 11.5% in girls and 4.7% in boys,” shows a study entitled ‘Branding and cartoon character usage in food marketing to children’ by Janlie van Lieshout, a registered dietician at Potchefstroom Hospital.

The purpose of the study is to describe the frequency of television advertising to children, the usage of branding and cartoon characters in the marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverages to children aged 3 to 18 years in South Africa, and was done to obtain evidence to support the policy development.

“Research has indicated that marketing practices aimed at children mainly promote foods and non-alcoholic beverages that are high in fat, sugar and/or salt (HFSS),” she says.

“When looking further into advertisements of foods to South African children, we saw that they have an influence on the dietary behaviour of a child, and these influences the rest of NCDs and children being overweight in South Africa.”

The impact of such advertising 

According to Van Lieshout, food branding influences children’s nutritional knowledge, food choices, purchasing and dietary behaviours, and can contribute to being overweight. Her study notes that marketing, using cartoon characters and branding, has increased the loyalty and product choice in children.

The study shows that, a total of 4 916 advertisements were shown on the free-to-air TV channels of which 1 030 (21%) were food advertisements. These ads aimed at children mostly included products such as sweets, confectionery, snack foods, sugared beverages, pre-sugared breakfast cereals, sweetened milk, and dairy products. Healthy food advertisements, on the other hand, accounted for the minority (1.4%) of ads.

Powerful tool

Mariaan Wicks, a senior lecturer at North West University says: “Marketing is a very powerful tool and we should, therefore, limit the marketing of unhealthy foods and try to promote healthy food marketing.”

“Food branding influences food choices and influences food preferences. We eat what we like, so, unfortunately, children at a very critical period of their lives don’t understand the link between food and health,” says Wicks.

Regulating the industry

Wicks’ research is aimed to develop a framework for regulating the marketing of high in fat, sugar and/or salt (HFSS) foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children in South Africa with the support of an appropriate nutrient profiling model.

This framework was submitted the Department of Health in 2017 and is currently awaiting response “We recommend that this framework is legislated to regulate the marketing of foods to children in South Africa to support the Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Obesity,” Wicks says.

Although advertising is not the only contributing factor leading to obesity in children, it is considered to be one of many factors contributing to children being overweight. “Therefore, it is necessary for the food industry to engage in responsible food marketing aimed at children in order to take one step forward in the prevention of obesity and NCDs in children,” she says. – Health-e News 

Monatea: The new no-sugar drink

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

With obesity levels on the rise globally and locally, and the link between it and the high intake of sugar, a newly launched drink is a welcomed reprieve. 

“We saw that South Africa lacked a beverage for people who were aware of the harm of excessive sugar intake and potentially problematic artificial sweeteners,” says Tsepo Montsi, founder of  Monatea.

“As such, South Africans were left with no alternative to obesity and diabetes-promoting products.”

A healthy alternative 

Montsi has developed a unique, unsweetened ready-to-drink beverage, also called Monatea.

This is an unsweetened, sparkling, cold-brewed Rooibos and botanical iced tea. Each variant contains a specially paired variety of fynbos as well as botanical superfoods, he says, and is also is a potent source of phytonutrients and antioxidants.

According to Montsi, the first step in combating the obesity problem is to provide alternative health-conscious products.

He says their range is 100% natural and contains zero sugar, zero sweeteners, zero preservatives and zero colourants.

The danger of too much sugar 

This company’s mission is to spread awareness about the impact of excessive sugar and sweetener intake, as well as bring clarity to health claims that often leave consumers with an inaccurate assessment of it.

“We have found the term ‘no added sugar’ [is] used in a manner that implies there is little sugar within the labelled product,” he says.

However, according to Montsi, what isn’t communicated is that while no cane sugar was actually added, alternatives such as honey or fruit juice are included which are sugar-rich in themselves. “Very often the resulting sugar content is quite comparable to cane sugar-sweetened beverages, but the wording ‘no added sugar’ implies otherwise.”

World Health Organisation guidelines recommend that to prevent obesity and tooth decay, adults and children should reduce their consumption of free sugars to less than 10% of their daily energy intake.

Excessive 

Montsi maintains that he doesn’t believe that sugar is evil, however, it’s no longer a secret that excessive sugar intake is extremely bad for the human body.

“It’s also well-known that the amount of sugar in the current serving sizes of sugary drinks is excessive, even with efforts to partially replace sugar with sweeteners. The jury is still out on sweeteners, and they may ultimately form part of the solution, but their definite metabolic effects (such as triggering insulin release) are extremely disconcerting.”

While it may be difficult to get away from their sugar addictions, in order to assist people with the transition towards unsweet and to recognise the possibility of moderate sugar intake, each of the Monatea’s variants is available lightly sweetened with a touch of cane sugar. “As far as we can tell, we have the lowest sugar levels in the market, and without sweeteners,” he adds.

Montsi says Monatea has enormous potential overseas and says they are already developing a line of loose leaf and powdered instant Monatea for the Chinese market. – Health-e News

Sugar Tax: How corporates lied to National Treasury

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

Sugar-sweetened beverage producers submitted evidence that was out of context and exaggerated in their appeal against South Africa’s proposed new sugar levy, research has found.

Coca-Cola, the Beverage Association of South Africa (BevSA) and the American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa (AmCham) manipulated evidence in their bid to stop the government from implementing a sugar tax, new research shows.

In April 2018, South Africa introduced the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) — commonly known as the sugar tax — to discourage South Africans from drinking sugary drinks in an attempt to stem non-communicable diseases, particularly diabetes. In the initiation phase of the levy, affected stakeholders such as Coca-Cola, BevSA and AmCham made submissions to the Department of Health on why they supported or opposed the levy.

A 2019 study, published in Globalisation and Health journal, found the three companies submitted “evidence” to the South African National Treasury stating that tax on sugar would lead to big job losses in retail and farming and have little impact on public health.

“In general, the industry submissions we reviewed misrepresented scientific evidence and used unscrupulous accounting methods to try to advance corporate interests,” says Dr Gray Fooks, lead author of the study.

Dredging and tweaking data

The research shows sugar beverage producers provided false proof to support their claims. Data used in their submissions to Treasury were framed in a misleading manner, the study found. This included misquoting peer-reviewed studies, selecting quotes in favour of their agenda, omitting important information and exaggerating the economic impact of the sugar tax.

For instance, AmCham cited a 2013 report by Oxford Economics and the International Tax and Investment Center to claim the impact of sugary drinks “on health outcomes is uncertain and unproven”. But, according to the study, the quoted report did not examine the relationship between sugary drinks and health. Researchers also accuse Coca-Cola and BevSA of picking out phrases from peer-reviewed studies and “changing the emphasis and intended meaning of the original text to support their arguments”.

Additionally, the research says Coca-Cola and BevSA “dredged” data by drawing on trusted food balance figures produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN to demonstrate that sugar wasn’t responsible for a rise in obesity in South Africa and purposely selecting a specific time-period which misrepresented actual trends in sugar consumption. But Coca-Cola, AmCham and BevSA all stand by the submissions they made to Treasury.

“The recent report published in Globalisation and Health concludes that corporates misrepresent evidence to suit their own business initiatives. However, the AmCham submission, one of only three quoted in the report out of the 41 submissions, mainly spoke to the socio-economic impact,” AmCham explains.

Coca-Cola says it stands by its submission to Treasury and says levies such as the one on sugary drinks are not effective. The company’s response to Health-e, in part, reads: “We find the publication of this report more than three years after our submissions on the National Treasury’s policy paper on the taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages to be unconstructive to the challenges associated with the HPL in South Africa. While neither Coca-Cola nor its bottling groups are opposed to the HPL, we believe that discriminatory taxes are ineffective because they only target one type of product in people’s dietary intake.”

Meanwhile, BevSA executive director Mapule Ncanywa says the organisation will not be drawn into the merits of the journal, because what is important is that the HPL is in force and its members are complying with it.

“BevSA stands by the submissions we have made during the discussions leading up to the implementation of the HPL. As is expected in a democratic society, there are always contending views in policy formulation, there are various submissions by other organisations and every literature is important and meant to assist government to make informed decisions,” she explains.

Fooks says the research highlights the vulnerability of African governments to corporates and hopes it is an eye-opener for those in power.

“Obesity and diet-related disease are the largest contributors to ill health globally. South Africa’s sugar tax is a critical part of efforts to tackle this public health crisis. One response to the South African government’s consultation, pulled together by the American Chamber of Commerce, read like a deceitful undergraduate essay,” he explains.

Same playbook, different players

Healthy Living Alliance programmes manager Lawrence Mbalati says sugar-related industries have taken a page from the tobacco and alcohol industries handbook by undermining governments efforts to ensure the health of the public is a priority.

“These lies are peddled to try and legitimise the unfounded and untested argument by the industry that the HPL has resulted in job losses. Earlier this year, Tongaat Hulett claimed 5,000 jobs were at risk due to implementation of the levy only to find that, rather, the company was embroiled in a cooperate governance scandal,” Mbalati says.

National Treasury would not respond to the findings of the study but referred Health-e to the Health Promotion Levy Bill, showing that the tax will not have a high job-loss effect as industries had submitted. In April, Treasury told Health-e any current estimates on job losses are “guesswork” and government would be assessing the jobs situation before the end of the year. Fooks says he commends the South African government for not falling for beverage industry tricks.

“What our research has found would be high comedy if the stakes weren’t so high,” he says.

Mbalati believes these companies should be held accountable for their actions.

“The misrepresentation and inaccurate information used to push back government implementing the health promotion levy sets a dangerous precedent. This can mislead policymakers in enacting important life-changing policy decisions and lose the opportunity to regulate business practices that endangers life.”

National Treasury’s Sugar Tax

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HEALA supports National Treasury’s attempts to protect sugary drinks tax

We support Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s announcement that he will adjust the health promotion levy (HPL) for inflation from 1 April 2019.

In his speech, Mboweni said the levy rate would increase to 2.21 cents to avoid an erosion in the value of the tax due to inflation. Currently, the levy is set at 2.1 cents for every gram of sugar beyond the first 4g of sugar per 100ml, which translates to an 11 percent tax on sugary drinks.

The inflation-adjustment of the HPL shows government’s commitment to protect this policy. But this not enough. We believe the rate – still around 11% on a can of Coca-Cola – is still too low. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 20 percent tax in order to get people to reduce their consumption of sugary drinks enough to make an impact on obesity.

Excessive consumption of sugary drinks is a major cause of obesity. It also increases the risk of diabetes, liver and kidney damage, heart disease and some cancers. In 2017, there were around 180,000 new diabetes cases in South Africa’s public sector alone.

We will continue to advocate for protection of the this increase unabated until the health of South Africans is taken seriously by government and the beverage industry.

In recent days, Coca-Cola and others have attempted to undermine the levy, citing its impact on job losses. These are merely scare tactics and show the industry’s prioritisation of profits over health.

While Coca-Cola makes millions, the queues at our clinics grow longer. We all know that many of our schools and spaza shops are covered with Coca-Cola adverts, and for decades many of us didn’t know the truth about how much sugar there is in cold drinks.

Companies like Coca-Cola have been allowed to sell a product that drives life-threatening diseases and they have specifically targeted poor communities who have the least access to quality health services.

A statement by Sibongile Nkosi, Executive Director of Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA).
For interviews, please contact sbo@heala.org, 066 253 4056.

New HM Appointment

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HEALA URGES NEWLY APPOINTED HEALTH MINISTER, DR ZWELI MKHIZE, TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT AGAINST OBESITY AND NCDs IN THE COUNTRY

30 May 2019 – The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) welcomes the appointment of Dr Zweli Mkhize as the National Minister of Health.

We hope that this moment presents an opportunity for renewed energy and commitment, as well as collective accountability to address the obesity and NCDs epidemic which has reached crisis level in South Africa.

It is with great anticipation that the Alliance looks forward to his tenure in the national health department. We believe that through strengthening collaboration with civil society, he will be able to reverse the tide against obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which have a detrimental impact on the quality of lives of South Africans, the healthcare system and economy of the country.

Dr Mkhize should continue the fight against obesity and NCDs as the country cannot afford to ignore the dire impact of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. We look forward to his commitment to placing healthcare on a firm footing for equitable and affordable access for everyone who lives in South Africa and trust that he will instil a culture multi-sectoral approach and response for the scourge of obesity and NCDs.

HEALA is committed to working with the incoming minister and the health department in saving lives and holding the food and beverage industry accountable to the people of South Africa.

HEALA will continue to support the Health Promotion Levy, simply known as the sugary drinks tax, as implemented by National Treasury in April last year to prevent obesity and NCDs. We will also continue to support the health departments to develop and implement progressive health-related policies in general and obesity and NCDs policies in particular.

A statement by the Healthy Living Alliance.
For interviews, please contact:
Thando Lamula
HEALA Communications Coordinator
011 880 0995
thando@heala.org

What’s In My Food

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#WHATSINMYFOOD WE NEED CLEAR LABELLING ON FOOD!

21 February 2019 – The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) is launching a campaign that asserts the right of every South African to know what is in the processed food we are eating, and calls on government to help us to do this.

The overall message of the #whatsinmyfood campaign is that South Africans have the right to know what’s in our food. The campaign aims to raise awareness and encourage dialogue among ordinary South Africans about the harmful contents of unhealthy food sold by the food and beverage industry.

There is a direct link between the excessive consumption of foods high salt, sugar and saturated fat and obesity and related non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, strokes, heart disease and some cancers.

Sbongile Nkosi, Executive Director at HEALA said: “The objective of the campaign is to get people to realise that a lot of the everyday processed food they are eating is unhealthy, and that there is a correlation between eating unhealthy food and poor health. We want everyone to begin to scrutinize the contents of their food, and particularly to cut down on foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat.”

According to a 2016 Lancet study, South Africa is the most obese nation in sub-Saharan Africa. Almost 40% of women and 11% of men are obese and over two-thirds (69.3%) of women and 39% of men are overweight. Obesity is one of the top five risk factors for early death and disability in the country. In addition, 1.6 million South African children are considered obese and the condition is growing at a much faster amongst kids than adults1.

The study further reveals that obesity is linked to the development of chronic non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and strokes, which are among the top 10 causes of death in South Africa, accounting for 43% of deaths1.

“The availability of unhealthy food combined with aggressive marketing and advertising and incomprehensible food labels, disempowers the consumer from making healthy food choices,” said Nkosi.

“It is the responsibility of the food and beverage industry to clearly disclose the contents of the food they produce, market and supply to the public.

“We require government to create policies and laws to ensure that the food and beverage industry provides South Africans with the clear and accurate information they need to make better food choices for themselves and their families,” she added.

The campaign kicks off on 24 February with national television, radio and print advertisements that aim to alert ordinary South Africans that many of the foods that are part of their daily diets are high in sugar, salt and saturated fat. It and will run nationally for 6 weeks on TV, radio and print media.

Linked to the campaign is a microsite (www.whatsinmyfood.org.za.) that will feature simplified nutrition information on popular packaged foods and beverages, with a pledge for visitors urging government to put in place policies that call for clear food labels and hold industry accountable for the harmful ingredients in the food they supply.

People can support and benefit from the campaign by engaging in social media conversations using the #whatsinmyfood, visiting the microsite and taking the pledge at www.whatsinmyfood.org.za

Ends

For more information, please contact:

Thando Lamula
Communications and Advocacy Coordinator, HEALA
thando@heala.org
074 363 9271

About HEALA

HEALA is an advocacy group aimed at improving the health of South Africans and creating a healthier food environment for all by empowering South Africans to make healthier food and lifestyle choices to prevent non-communicable diseases.

Facebook: Healthy Living Alliance – HEALA
Twitter: @heala_SA

References

  1. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Trends in adult body-mass index in 200 countries from 1975 to 2014: a pooled analysis of 1698 population-based measurement studies with 19·2 million participants. The Lancet. 2016; 387(10026): 1377-96)
  2. Pillay-van Wyk V, Msemburi W, Laubscher R, Dorrington RE, Groenewald P, Glass T, et al. Mortality trends and differentials in South Africa from 1997 to 2012: second National Burden of Disease.

Media Release

Posted on by Zukiswa Zimela

HEALA TAKES #WHATSINMYFOOD CAMPAIGN TO GAUTENG SCHOOLS

4 March 2019 – As part of the #WhatsInMyFood campaign HEALA has partnered with 30 schools across Johannesburg to create healthier school environments. Last week, HEALA visited schools in Soweto and Tembisa, where 150 learners participated in discussions around healthy food choices. Learners in each school also came up with solutions on how schools could offer healthier options.

Invited learners were asked to design their own healthy school food environment campaigns and deliver their presentations to their peers and HEALA.

Thando Lamula, HEALA Communications and Advocacy Coordinator said: “The aim is to educate learners about their rights to know what is in their food, the negative health implications of eating unhealthily and to raise awareness on healthy food alternatives.

“The learners showed great enthusiasm for the campaign and were eager to learn about the benefits of eating healthily and healthy food alternatives. Their presentations demonstrated a keen interest in healthier food environments for their schools.”

In 2018 HEALA conducted an audit of the food environment at 61 schools in Soweto and the East Rand, covering 62,883 learners. The aim of the audit was to investigate what food primary and high school learners consume at schools by looking at the school nutrition programmes and what was being sold at tuck-shops and by vendors. The results of which revealed excessive unhealthy food consumption and eating habits among the learners.

The recently launched #WhatsInMyFood Campaign calls for clear labelling on food so as to empower South Africans to make healthier food choices. The campaign aims to campaign is to shift South African’s perception of what is and isn’t healthy and in addition encourage dialogue among South Africans about the harmful contents of unhealthy food sold by the food and beverage industry.

Children are especially vulnerable to the current unhealthy food environment. 1.6 million South African children are considered obese and the condition is rising at a much faster rate than compared to adults.

Obesity is linked to the development of chronic non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and strokes, which are among the top 10 causes of death in South Africa, accounting for 43% of deaths1.

For more on the #WhatsInMyFood Campaign visit whatsinmyfood.org.za.

Ends

For more information, please contact

Thando Lamula
Communications and Advocacy Coordinator, HEALA
thando@heala.org
074 363 9271

About HEALA 

HEALA is an advocacy group aimed at improving the health of South Africans and creating a healthier food environment for all by empowering South Africans to make healthier food and lifestyle choices to prevent non-communicable diseases.

Facebook: Healthy Living Alliance – HEALA
Twitter: @heala_SA 

NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Trends in adult body-mass index in 200 countries from 1975 to 2014: a pooled analysis of 1698 population-based measurement studies with 19·2 million participants. The Lancet. 2016; 387(10026): 1377-96)

Lawrence New Appointment

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HEALA APPOINTS NEW PROGRAMMES MANAGER

23 April 2019 – Lawrence Mbalati has been appointed the new head of the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA), effective 15 April 2019.

In his new role, Lawrence will develop and drive the strategy for a robust campaign seeking to achieve policy reform in obesity and NCD-related issues in South Africa.

Lawrence has over 14 years’ experience in community and health systems strengthening, community mobilization, policy advocacy, lobbying, human rights and project management.
His illustrious career started at the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), pioneering access to treatment in Limpopo and other South African provinces during the dark years of AIDS denial.
He later joined the AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa (ARASA) to promote respect for and the protection of rights to bodily autonomy and integrity for all in order to reduce inequality, especially gender inequality and promote health, dignity and wellbeing in Southern and East Africa. He also worked in the Public Health, Humanitarian and Community Technical support space with the South African Red Cross Society (SARCS), Society for Family Health (SFH) and Beyond Zero.

Lawrence holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Science and an Advance Certificate in Project Management, both from the University of South Africa (UNISA).
“I am thrilled to join this vibrant organisation and hard-working team. I am looking forward to significantly contributing to the organisational vision, advocacy and campaigns for turning the tide against obesity and NCDs,” said Mbalati.

He takes over from former HEALA Executive Director, Sibongile Nkosi, who was at the helm of the organisation for a year.
Ends.

About HEALA

HEALA is an advocacy group aimed at improving the health of South Africans and creating a healthier food environment for all by empowering South Africans to make healthier food and lifestyle choices to prevent non-communicable diseases

HPL Anniversary Press Release

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A YEAR OF THE HEALTH PROMOTION LEVY

1st April 2019 marks a year since the introduction of the sugary drinks tax, also known as the health promotion levy. The 11% tax was implemented as a means to mitigate the rising and shocking rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.

Revenue generated from the health promotion levy is set to fund health promotion and NCD programmes.

National Treasury Spokesperson Jabulane Mulambo said: “By the end of January 2019, the health promotion levy had raised R2,715 million. The revenue numbers for February 2019 are still to be verified and will be published before end of March, and the full financial results will only become available after the close of financial year – sometime in April.”

According to the National Department of Health a portion of the revenue has already been invested in cancer research.

“The levy, which is applied to all non-alcoholic drinks with added sugar or flavouring, syrups and other concentrates, cocoa powder and malt extract, and non-alcoholic beer is a step in the right direction in fighting the scourge of obesity in the South Africa.

“While HEALA considers the implementation of the 11% levy on sugary drinks a year ago a milestone for country, we will continue to advocate for an increase to 20% in order for the levy to have a significant impact as recommended by the WHO,” said Thando Lamula, HEALA Communications Coordinator.

A 20% tax on sugary drinks is estimated to reduce obesity by 3.8% in men and 2.4% in women, resulting in 220,000 fewer obese adults. There are significant healthcare cost savings for the government as well as for South African families. It is estimated that this tax may avert approximately 72,000 deaths, 55,0000 stroke-related health-adjusted life years, and over R5 billion in healthcare costs over 20 years.

Evidence shows that in jurisdictions where it has been implemented, sugary drinks taxes made an impact and lowered consumption of sugary beverages.

In Mexico purchases of sugary drinks fell by 6% in the first year of the tax. After the tax was implemented, Mexico experienced a significant reduction in sugary drink purchases, increases in water purchases, and no change in total employment.

South Africa is currently leading the obesity statistics in Sub-Saharan Africa, and our numbers speak for themselves. Almost 70% of women and 39% of men are overweight or obese, with the condition growing at a much rapid rate among children than adults.

Obesity is linked to the development of NCDs such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and strokes, which are among the top 10 causes of death and disability, accounting for 43% of deaths in the country.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the consumption of sugary drinks as a major cause of obesity, diabetes and dental caries and the taxing of sugary drinks is one of the best strategies to discourage intake. South Africans are listed among the top 10 consumers of sugary drinks in the world.

Recent claims by the sugar industry blaming the sugary drinks tax for job losses in the industry remain unsubstantiated.

The sugar industry has been in crisis for more than a decade. The facts are clear:

  • The world sugar price halved between 2009 and 2014 (from about US$600/ton to about US$300/ ton).
  • The EU reduced its the export quota for sugar, which many southern African sugar producers had access to under the Lomé Convention, from US$524/ton in 2009 to US$335/ton in 2014.
  • Sugar production in South Africa has dropped by around 33% between 2002 and 2012.
  • Illovo reduced its workforce by 25% between 2009 and 2014.
  • Three successive droughts have had a significant impact on cane production.

Three major sugar corporations – Tongaat Hullet, Illovo and Transvaal Suiker Beperk (TSB) – account for 90% of sugar production in the SADC region.

These three corporations have protected their profit base by increasingly outsourcing sugar cane growing to small farmers – called out-growers – who assume all the risk and have borne the brunt of successive droughts. The proliferation of black small-scale sugar cane growers has benefited the industry far more than most farmers. In the 1990s, there were about 50,000 small farmers but this has plunged to 20,500 registered small growers as drought and debt have taken their toll.

Today, Illovo and Tongaat Hulett both source more cane from other sub-Saharan countries than South Africa because labour costs are cheaper. Regional production of sugar cane totaled 36 million tons in 2012, and South Africa’s share of total regional production dropped from 60% in 1992 to 40% in 2012. This is the cause of local job losses, not the health promotion levy.

Ends.

About HEALA

HEALA is an alliance of civil society organizations and individuals aimed at improving the health of South Africans and creating a healthier food environment for all by empowering South Africans to make healthier food and lifestyle choices to prevent non-communicable diseases. Its current member organisations are: Health-e News Services, Health Promotion and Development Foundation, Khulisa Social Solutions, Rural Health Advocacy Project, Section 27, South African Dental Association (SADA), South African Paediatric Association (SAPA), Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes of South Africa (SEMDSA), Amandla.mobi and Treatment Action Campaign (TAC).

Facebook: Healthy Living Alliance – HEALA
Twitter: @heala_SA

References:

  1. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Trends in adult body-mass index in 200 countries from 1975 to 2014: a pooled analysis of 1698 population-based measurement studies with 19·2 million participants. The Lancet. 2016; 387(10026): 1377-96)
  2. Pillay-van Wyk V, Msemburi W, Laubscher R, Dorrington RE, Groenewald P, Glass T, et al. Mortality trends and differentials in South Africa from 1997 to 2012: second National Burden of Disease.
  3. World Health Organization. FIscal policies for diet and the prevention of noncommunicable diseases. Geneva: WHO,, 2016.
  4. Manyema M, Veerman LJ, Tugendhaft A, Labadarios D, Hofman KJ. Modelling the potential impact of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax on stroke mortality, costs and health-adjusted life years in South Africa. BMC Public Health. 2016; 16(1): 405.
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