In the UK, 64 per cent of adults are considered obese which is estimated to cost the NHS billions of pounds every year, but the Chief Medical Officer for England has announced that a tax on sugar could be introduced to tackle the problem.

Dame Sally Davies told the Commons Health Select Committee that being overweight has become normal in Britain and that a tax on sugar was a realistic solution.

However, the Food and Drink Federation responded that sugar was not the cause of obesity, when eaten as part of a balanced diet and claimed that a tax on it would affect the poor families very hard.

Pharmacist Omar El-Gohary said: “It tends to be that the unhealthiest foods are the cheapest. A tax on sugar (i.e. in processed food) should in theory make it less appetising in comparison to healthier alternatives such as fruits and vegetables.”

Dame Sally also recommended to the World Health Organisation that the current recommended figure of 10 per cent of totally energy intake from “free sugars” (refined and fruit sugars) should be cut in half to five per cent.

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