title: Ending SNAP subsidies for sugar-sweetened beverages could reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes.
abstract: To reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes rates, lawmakers have proposed modifying Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to encourage healthier food choices. We examined the impact of two proposed policies: a ban on using SNAP dollars to buy sugar-sweetened beverages; and a subsidy in which for every SNAP dollar spent on fruit and vegetables, thirty cents is credited back to participants' SNAP benefit cards. We used nationally representative data and models describing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and determinants of food consumption among a sample of over 19,000 SNAP participants. We found that a ban on SNAP purchases of sugar-sweetened beverages would be expected to significantly reduce obesity prevalence and type 2 diabetes incidence, particularly among adults ages 18-65 and some racial and ethnic minorities. The subsidy policy would not be expected to have a significant effect on obesity and type 2 diabetes, given available data. Such a subsidy could, however, more than double the proportion of SNAP participants who meet federal vegetable and fruit consumption guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Sanjay Basu (basus@stanford.edu) is an assistant professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine, in California.
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Basu
authors.affiliation: Hilary Kessler Seligman is an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.
authors.forename: Hilary Kessler
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Seligman
authors.affiliation: Christopher Gardner is a professor of medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Jay Bhattacharya is an associate professor of medicine, economics, and health research and policy at Stanford University.
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001628:Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D063105:Food Assistance / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005518:Food Preferences; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014481:United States; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose
keywords: Determinants Of Health; Public Health; Safety-Net Systems; Special Populations