Economy

Taming Canada's sweet tooth could have saved the economy up to $5 billion: U of A study – Edmonton Journal

Published

3 years ago

March 17, 2022

The results of a study published Wednesday in the Canadian Journal of Public Health estimate that if Canadians reduce their consumption of “free sugar” to less than 10 per cent of their total energy intake in 2019, it could have saved $2.5 billion in health care and other costs.

Research from the University of Alberta estimates that Canada could have saved $2.5 to $5 billion in health care and other costs in 2019 by reducing the consumption of excess sugar. Postmedia, file

Cutting sugar consumption could save Canada’s economy billions, but simply taxing sweetened drinks may not be the best way to change consumer tastes, University of Alberta research suggests.

The results of a study published Wednesday in the Canadian Journal of Public Health estimate that if Canadians reduce their consumption of “free sugar” — sugar added to food and drink or naturally occurring in syrups, honey or fruit juice — to less than 10 per cent of their total energy intake in 2019, it could have saved $2.5 billion in health care and other costs.

Those savings reach $5 billion by cutting free sugar consumption to less than five per cent, the study added.

Paul J. Veugelers, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the university’s school of public health, said those figures include not just the direct health-care costs of chronic diseases related to excess sugar consumption — such as diabetes, various cancers and chronic kidney disease — they also include indirect, productivity costs due to illness and disability.

“We call that ‘loss of human capital,’” said Veugelers, the study’s principal investigator. “Because people get sick, cannot go to work, and they die too early.”

The study used sugar consumption data from the 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey, which members of the research team used in 2020 to learn that nearly two-thirds of Canadians ate more than the recommended amount of free sugar. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests limiting sugar consumption to less than 10 per cent (and ideally less than five per cent) of total energy intake.

While it’s difficult to quantify the WHO’s recommendation for the average person, since everyone’s energy intake is going to be different and depends on how much a person consumes, Veugelers recommends exercising a little common sense when it comes to phasing out free sugars.

“Be a conscious consumer,” he said. “You know which products are sweet — start there.”

Paul Veugelers, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Alberta’s school of public health. supplied

To reduce sugar consumption and the economic consequences of related chronic disease, the study recommends interventions such as taxes, subsidies and education to help change consumption patterns.

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is trying something along those lines in September, when it plans to impose a tax on sugar sweetened beverages. But Veugelers said a levy on drinks alone may not be sufficient since, as the study notes, they only account for 17 per cent of free sugar consumption in Canada.

“Ideally we would put a tax on all sugar, not just sugar-sweetened beverages,” he said. “And the revenue from all that should be put towards subsidies of other, healthful food items so that, on balance, the food is not going to be more expensive for the consumer, and we achieve a shift in the choice of food.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the need to act sooner than later, Veugelers added, since reports show adverse affects on Canadian lifestyles such as increased consumption of unhealthy food and less physical activity.

Early in the pandemic, Statistics Canada surveys found an increasing number of respondents were eating junk food and sweets, spending time on the internet and playing video games.

In September, the agency reported just over 32 per cent of youths between the ages of 12 and 17 met Canadian physical activity recommendations in fall 2020 — down from nearly 51 per cent in fall 2018.

hissawi@postmedia.com

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Economy

September merchandise trade deficit narrows to $1.3 billion: Statistics Canada

Published

6 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Anne Joseph

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the country’s merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $1.3 billion in September as imports fell more than exports.

The result compared with a revised deficit of $1.5 billion for August. The initial estimate for August released last month had shown a deficit of $1.1 billion.

Statistics Canada says the results for September came as total exports edged down 0.1 per cent to $63.9 billion.

Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products fell 5.4 per cent as exports of unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys, decreased 15.4 per cent. Exports of energy products dropped 2.6 per cent as lower prices weighed on crude oil exports.

Meanwhile, imports for September fell 0.4 per cent to $65.1 billion as imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products dropped 12.7 per cent.

In volume terms, total exports rose 1.4 per cent in September while total imports were essentially unchanged in September.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

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