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STATES CHRONICLE – Jamie Oliver is one of the most charismatic and skillful cooks of all times that have appeared on TV. However, he hasn’t focused on cooking shows only. He also recorded his efforts to make America healthier by teaching citizens how to cook simple recipes. His latest endeavor attempts to persuade governments to hold nothing back when it comes to tax increases for sugary drinks.
Jamie Oliver Recorded Long-Term Effects across Restaurants in UK by Changing Menus and Increasing Price Tags
As of lately, Jamie Oliver issued a 10% price increase across his 37 Italian restaurants across the UK. He made sure his clients were aware that the extra earnings are going to head towards charity. Due to this implementation, sales on unhealthy soft drink declined by 11% over a timeframe of 12 weeks.
On top of that, restaurants promoted redesign menus. Therefore, clients were able to easily find healthier alternatives to their drinks of choice with lower measures of sugar. Thanks to these little tweaks, the results gained long-term effects. Even after a six-month period, the chain of restaurants was still recording a 9.3% decline in sales for sugary drinks per customer.
However, Jamie didn’t act alone. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine led the study together with the University of Cambridge. The final results were published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
The Study Adds More Reasons for Governments to Act Harsher Against Sugary Drinks
While most calorie excesses originate from food, drinks are not to be taken lightly. Consumption of beverages high in sugars is often linked to type 2 diabetes, overweight, tooth decay, and cardiovascular diseases. Letting go of such nutritional habits can restore normal body weight in children and teenagers.
Various reports show that UK children consume half of their caloric excess from beverages high in sugars. Adults on average consume 50 calories more per day coming from sugar-sweetened drinks.
The authors of the study admit to the limitations of their resources. The research was conducted only within one chain of restaurants. On top of that, they implemented a change that was already happening elsewhere as well. Nonetheless, researchers and Jamie are still encouraging policymakers to introduce harsher taxes for unhealthy beverages.
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