Supplementary Material for: Interim Evaluation of Germany’s Sugar Reduction Strategy for Soft Drinks: Commitments versus Actual Trends in Sugar Content and Sugar Sales from Soft Drinks

Introduction: A high intake of sugar, in particular from sugar-sweetened soft drinks, increases the risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and dental caries. Germany has pursued a national strategy for sugar reduction in soft drinks based on voluntary commitments by industry since 2015, but its effects are unclear. Methods: We use aggregated annual sales data from Euromonitor International to assess trends in mean sales-weighted sugar content of soft drinks and per capita sugar sales from soft drinks in Germany from 2015-2021. We compare these trends to the reduction path set by Germany’s national sugar reduction strategy, and to data for the United Kingdom, which adopted a soft drinks tax in 2017 and which we selected as best practice comparison country based on pre-defined criteria. Results: Between 2015-2021, the mean sales-weighted sugar content of soft drinks sold in Germany decreased by 2% from 5.3 to 5.2 g/100ml, falling short of an interim 9% reduction target and a 29% reduction observed in the United Kingdom over the same period. Sugar sales from soft drinks in Germany decreased from 22.4 to 21.6 g/capita/day (-4%) between 2015-2021, but remain high from a public health perspective. Conclusions: Reductions observed under Germany’s sugar reduction strategy fall short of stated targets and trends observed internationally under best practice conditions. Additional policy measures may be needed to support sugar reduction in soft drinks in Germany.

研究背景：高糖摄入，尤其是含糖软饮料带来的糖分摄入，会增加肥胖、2型糖尿病（type 2 diabetes mellitus）以及龋齿（dental caries）的发病风险。德国自2015年起依托行业自愿承诺推行了全国性软饮料减糖战略，但其实施效果尚未明确。
研究方法：本研究采用欧睿国际（Euromonitor International）的年度汇总销售数据，对2015年至2021年德国软饮料的销售加权平均含糖量，以及人均每日软饮料来源的糖摄入量的变化趋势进行评估。将上述趋势与德国全国软饮料减糖战略设定的减糖路径进行对比，并选取2017年开征软饮料税的英国作为参照国——后者是我们基于预设标准筛选出的最佳实践对照国。
研究结果：2015年至2021年间，德国在售软饮料的销售加权平均含糖量从5.3 g/100ml下降至5.2 g/100ml，降幅为2%，未达到阶段性9%的减糖目标；同期英国的软饮料含糖量降幅达29%，远高于德国。德国人均每日从软饮料中摄入的糖量从22.4克降至21.6克，降幅为4%，但从公共卫生视角来看，该数值仍处于较高水平。
研究结论：德国软饮料减糖战略所取得的减糖效果，未达到既定目标，且与国际最佳实践场景下的减糖趋势存在显著差距。德国或需出台额外政策举措，以推动软饮料领域的减糖工作。