Impact case study database

Reid and Duffy’s research has impacted on public policy and services in the UK and internationally.

Impact on public policy and services in the UK

Findings from the (2010, 2014) studies by Reid, Duffy, and colleagues formed part of the evidence base for a systematic review of high-quality studies that investigated the relationship between consumption of dietary carbohydrates and health. This review was commissioned by The Food Standards Agency and the Department of Health (England) which asked the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) to examine the relationship between dietary carbohydrates and health and to produce public health recommendations. From analysis of the evidence, SACN (2015, p.81) concluded that ‘the direction of effect demonstrates that greater consumption of sugars is detrimental to health’, and that ‘the effect is biologically relevant at a population level in free living individuals not subject to energy restriction’. These conclusions led to two SACN dietary recommendations related to sugar (2015, p.184), as follows:

• The population average intake of free sugars should not exceed 5% of total dietary energy for age groups from 2 years upwards.

• The consumption of sugars-sweetened beverages should be minimised, in both children and adults.

These SACN recommendations (#1) have

1. been taken up in the dietary advice provided by all UK health departments;

2. been incorporated into the healthy eating advice given to consumers;

3. led Public Health England to undertake an appraisal of potential policy responses to implement the recommendations (#2);

4. informed debate in the House of Commons Health Committee on measures required to implement them (#3);

5. resulted in the UK Government producing ‘A Plan for Action’ designed to take forward the recommendations in practice across the public sector, schools, early years settings, families, and elsewhere to reduce significantly England’s rate of childhood obesity over a ten year period (#4; #5);

6. led to Public Health England launching on 2 January 2018 its ‘Change4Life campaign’ that encourages parents to look for ‘100 calorie snacks, two a day max’ to limit their children’s daily intake of free sugars (#6).

7. led to the Scottish Government producing ‘Revised Dietary Goals for Scotland’ (#7) and the Welsh Government producing a best practice guideline ‘Food & Nutrition for Childcare Settings’ (#8), both of which reflect the SACN recommendations.

Reid and Duffy’s (2010, 2014) studies comprised two of the 11 high-quality studies that were included in the review for the SACN (2015) report. The respective increases and decreases in daily energy intake that Reid and colleagues identified were included in the final review and informed the dietary recommendations that ensued. Reid and Duffy’s research has thereby impacted on (a) the health and wellbeing of people, as evidenced by changes to public health guidelines, and (b) public policy and services, as evidenced by use in policy debates and citation in policy documents.

Impact on international public policy and services

Findings from Reid, Duffy, and colleagues’ (2010) study were included in a systematic review commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) Department of Nutrition for Health and Development and conducted by Te Morenga and colleagues (2013) (#9). The review was commissioned to ‘assess the effects of increasing or decreasing intake of free sugars on excess weight gain’ and thereby to inform development of a WHO guideline. The subsequent 2015 guideline (#10), ‘Sugars intake for adults and children’, makes three recommendations, namely

1. WHO recommends a reduced intake of free sugars throughout the lifecourse.

2. In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake.

3. WHO suggests a further reduction of the intake of free sugars to below 5% of total energy intake.

The WHO envisage that the guideline will inform the development of policy and practice relating to dietary intake across the globe. As they state (p.6), ‘the guideline will help Member States and their partners in making informed decisions about nutrition policies, programmes and interventions’.

Reid and Duffy’s (2010) study was one of 30 high-quality international studies included in the Te Morenga (2013) review (#9). Both that review and Reid, Duffy and colleagues’ 2010 study are cited in the 2015 guideline (#10). Reid and Duffy’s research has thereby impacted internationally on the development of public health guidelines, and public policy and services, as evidenced by use in policy debates and citation in policy documents.