No sugar please, I'm Norwegian
2021 national target for reduction of sugar intake has already been reached.
Who knew?
The Norwegians are smarter than the rest of us. Sugar is a scourge and they have tackled it head on. The country’s annual sugar consumption per person been reduced by 19 kilograms over the last eighteen years, NRK reports. The report presented on Tuesday states that the average yearly consumption of sugar in Norway decreased from 43 to 24 kilos per person between 2000 and 2018.
I can tell you is not happy about this: Confectionary News. They had a blistering article last year complaining how industry players and a market researcher speculate how Norway’s 83% increased duty on chocolate and sugar products will affect sales.
But did it? Affect sales of chocolate in Norway? Amongst other trends, the report states that chocolate consumption in Norway fell from 14 to 12.4 kilograms per person from 2017 to 2018,.
That compares with sales of chocolate and confectionery having increased from around 5 kilograms to around 12 kilograms per person per year from 1960 to 1990, and a further increase to around 15 kilograms in 2008, according to production, import and export figures from Statistics Norway.
Meanwhile, turnover from soft drinks and mineral water sales has more than doubled since the 1950s.
The consumption of sugary sodas in Norway appears to have peaked in 1997 at 93 litres per person.
But the total consumption of sugary soft drinks has dropped sharply in the last four years, from 59 to 47 litres per person, according to the report. So all in all sugar intake is down. And according to the World Economic Forum the Norwegians are onto something. It is all about reducing obesity. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with at least 2.8 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese, according to the World Health Organisation.
Obesity is costing the world $2 trillion dollars annually according to a report from the Mckinsey Global Institute, which classifies obesity as one of the top three social burdens generated by human beings, almost on a par with smoking and armed conflict.
Wow.
But while there may not be one way to solve the problem, a tax on sugar is increasingly being considered as part of the solution.
And Norway - as it does on many issues - is leading the way. Have I told you about the Norwegian Hedge Fund and how it manages its investment better than anyone else?
The victimisation of sugar?
Campaigns such as People against Sugar Tax and the American Beverage Association believe that taxing sugary drinks or food items with a great deal of added sugar is unfairly casting sugar as the main cause of obesity.
Well, here is a nice chart from the CDC - unfortunately I couldn’t lay it out correctly, but I hope it helps! I’m off now for a non fat latte.
Where does your added sugar come from?
Rank
1
Soda/energy/sports drinks
42.2%
2
Grain-based desserts
11.9%
3
Fruit drinks
8.5%
4
Dairy desserts
5.5%
5
Candy
5.0%
6
Ready-to-eat cereals
2.9%
7
Sugars/honey
4.1%
8
Tea
3.8%
9
Yeast breads
2.3%
10
Syrups/toppings
1.4%
Source: CDC, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005–06.