Addictiveness Of Sugar Essay

One in three children aged 2 to 15 years old are classed as overweight or obese (The Lancet, 2016). These shocking levels led the UK government to introduce a soft drink levy, with supporters including Jamie Oliver. Being a demerit good, the harm sugar does tends to be ignored (Schroyen, 2005), which has led to over indulgence, particularly in the form of sugary drinks as they are not thought of as on par with chocolate or cake. The problem is that sugar is a good which maximizes utility in the short term, but long term over-indulgence will reduce utility as it causes adverse effects such as dental caries, obesity and Type 2 diabetes (NHS, 2015). Collison et al (2010) discovered that increased consumption of sugary carbonated drinks is linked to increased body mass index and waist circumference in boys, and worse nutritional decisions in both sexes. Alongside this negative relationship, soft drink consumption was shown to have at least doubled in children and teenagers between 1977 and 1998 (French et al, 2003), suggesting that sugary carbonated drinks are a contributor to this expanding problem. This essay will explore the soft …show more content…
If all consumers find sugary drinks an addictive good, the price elasticity of demand is perfectly inelastic (it equals zero), so any change in price would not affect the quantity demanded as the demand curve is vertical. Consumers mostly find sugar an addictive good, so an inelastic price elasticity of demand is feasible (or very close to perfectly inelastic). If prices rose, consumers would not substitute away from such a good, although they do have substitutes such as chocolate. Whereas, if the price elasticity is perfectly elastic (equals zero), as is more likely in low income households, consumers are very responsive to changes in price. Possibilities of inelastic and elastic demand are likely to balance, leading to the reaction pictured in the graph being a likely