An exploration of the impending 2018 sugar-sweetened beverage tax on the purchases of Black African women, shopping at the Edendale mall in Pietermaritzburg.
Year: 2019
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction: The incidence of death from non-communication diseases (NCDs) is escalating \nsteadily. Rapid urbanisation and changing diets in the developing countries are currently \nproducing a “silent emergency” called overnutrition or obesity. Several studies conducted in \nSouth Africa have shown that obesity is more severe among females than males, particularly in \nthe Black African race group. Recent literature suggested that the consumption of sugarsweetened \nbeverages (SSBs) could have contributed towards this problem. Fiscal interventions \nsuch as taxes are increasingly being recognised worldwide as an effective tool that can help to \ncombat the obesity epidemic at a population level. The increased price of SSBs is an important \nfactor that could influence the purchasing decisions of consumers. Increased negative health \neffects of SSBs have led to action to be taken in order to limit their consumption. In conjunction \nwith this, on February 2016, the South African Government decided to consider the use of fiscal \npolicies by introducing taxes on SSBs in order to improve the health standards of the public. \nAt the time of this study the SSBs tax had not been implemented, however it was important to \ninvestigate what effect the impending tax would have on the current SSB purchasing practices \nof Black African women. \nAim: Investigating the impact of the impending 2018 sugar-sweetened beverage tax on the \npurchases of Black African women aged 19 and older, shopping at the Greater Edendale Mall \nin Pietermaritzburg. \nObjectives: To determine the demographic characteristics of Black African women who \npurchase SSBs; to determine the types of SSB Black African women are purchasing; to assess \nthe frequency of SSB purchases by Black African women; to investigate the factors that \ninfluence Black African women to purchase SSBs and to determine the effect of the impending \n2018 SSB tax on respondent purchases of SSBs. \nMethods: A cross sectional study with aim of investigating the impact of the impending 2018 \nsugar-sweetened beverage tax was conducted among 439 Black African women aged 19 and \nolder, shopping at the Greater Edendale Mall in Pietermaritzburg. Non-probability sampling \nwas used to recruit the respondents. A five-part questionnaire was used to gather demographic \ninformation; characteristics of respondents who purchase the SSBs; the types of SSBs \niii \npurchased; the frequency of purchases; what motivated the respondents to purchase SSBs; and \nwhat impact the impending SSBs tax would have on SSB purchases once implemented. \nResults: The study population consisted of 439 Black African women. The mean age of the \nrespondents was 33.69 years with minimum and maximum ages of 19 and 55 respectively. \nAround two thirds (n=328, 74.7%) had an education level of matric or up to Grade 12. Only \none third (n=111, 25.4%) had a post matric qualification. \nAmong all SSBs purchased by respondents, carbonated fizzy drinks were the most frequently \npurchased beverage (n= 391, 89.0%), while sport drinks were purchased least frequently (0.9%, \nn=4) ahead of energy drinks (n=5, 1.1%). Squashes, concentrates and syrups (Juices) were the \nsecond most frequently purchased SSBs (n=25, 4.9%), followed by flavoured water drinks \n(n=15, 3.4%). Most respondents (n=396, 90.2%) indicated that they purchased SSBs between \none and four times a month. Price and taste were rated as being significantly important factors \nthat influenced respondents to purchase SSBs, whilst design and packaging, recommendation \nby friends/family and loyalty to the product were less important factors. Most respondents \n(n=359, 82.0%) reported that they were not aware of the impending SSB tax. \nThe main findings of the study revealed that nearly half of the respondents (n=213, 48.5%) \nindicated the intention to continue purchasing and consume their preferred beverages as usual \ndespite the price increase due to the SSBs tax. Around one-third of respondents (n= 151, 35.1%) \nreported that they would reduce their SSB purchases and start consuming smaller amounts of \nSSBs. Few respondents (n=68, 15.5%) indicated that they would switch to cheaper drinks \nwhilst very few (n=4, 1.0%) would opt to stop purchasing SSBs. \nThe results of sub-group analysis in relation to the impact of impending tax depending on \neducation level and income status revealed the existence of a significant negative correlation \nfor price with education. A significant number of respondents with matric and less (n=188, \n62.8%) indicated that they will continue purchasing SSBs as usual after the implementation of \nSSBs tax while significantly more of those with a higher education level (n=73, 78.5%) \nconfirmed their intention to reduce SSB purchases. Most respondents, who earned up to R5553 \nas their monthly total household income (n=96, 63.2% and n=29, 19.1%), indicated that they \nwould either continue purchasing SSBs as usual or switch to cheaper drinks respectively. \niv \nConversely, respondents with a higher income including those who earned R44949 per month \nand above (n=3, 0.7%), between R18545 – R44948 (n=35, 8.0%) as well as between R10010 – \nR 18544 (n=37, 8.4%) indicated that they will reduce their SSB purchases once the tax had been \nimplemented. \nConclusion: The findings from this study highlight the need to further investigate the long term \neffect of SSB consumption contributing to overweight and obesity, particularly in Black African \nwomen and their family members. Since differences in SSB purchases were observed \ndepending on education and income status of the respondents, the high frequency of \nconsumption of added sugars from carbonated fizzy drinks by respondents and their family \nmembers entails more exploration. This would give direction for appropriate policies and \ninitiatives, along with the SSB tax that could promote healthier dietary intake habits and reduce \nthe burden of obesity related NCDs in Black African women and their family members.
Author: George Richard. Ilangila
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: National Research Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W3023589131