The Credit Suisse Research Institute released a report entitled “Sugar: Consumption at a Crossroads which explores the medical, economic, consumer, corporate and public policy elements of global sugar consumption and the impact for investors as focus on this area intensifies. The report explores the impact of ‘sugar and sweeteners’ on our diets and assesses the impact on companies as the landscape of consumer preferences and public policy is potentially redrawn.
The report also includes a proprietary survey of general practitioners in the US, Europe and Asia. The survey reportedly found that 90 per cent of the doctors surveyed believed that the sharp growth in type II diabetes and the current obesity epidemic are strongly linked to excess sugar consumption. “Although causality is difficult to prove in this area, with such a high percentage of doctors in our proprietary survey confident of this strong link, we cannot ignore the significance and the implications for society and our economy,” says Stefano Natella, Co-Head of Securities Research & Analytics and an author of the study.
The report also finds that the risk of public intervention and increasing public awareness will force companies to adapt as consumers gradually move towards healthier options that utilise high-intensity natural sweeteners. This provides challenges and opportunities for both companies and investors.
“The scale and cost of the type II diabetes and obesity epidemic leaves little question as to the need for change. This change will bring new investment opportunities with winners and losers,” said Giles Keating, Head of Research for Private Banking and Wealth Management.
Other key findings of the report on the medical front are:
- Type II diabetes is growing at 4 per cent a year vs. obesity 1-2 per cent with 370 million affected globally: 4.8 million people died of diabetes in 2012 versus 5.6 million for smoke related diseases. Resulting in a healthcare bill of $500 billion or over 10 per cent of global healthcare spending.
- The response to sugar intake is genetically individual and liquids and solids are handled differently by each person. As a result, beverages with high caloric content have played major role in the obesity epidemic and type II diabetes.
- 82 per cent of the doctors surveyed in the US and Europe believe that sugar calories are handled differently by the body, compared to only 60 per cent in Asia. On the question “is sugar addictive,” 65 per cent think this is the case.
EH News Bureau