¿El impuesto a las bebidas ultraprocesadas azucaradas ha modificado los hábitos de los consumidores en Colombia?

Abstract

As health is a fundamental right, its protection through public policies becomes necessary, and these policies must affect all aspects of citizens’ lives. In this sense, they are not only aimed at restoring deteriorated health but also at modifying living conditions and habits, since doing so can impact public health and reduce the expenses associated with it. In this way, efforts are applied preventively rather than restoratively. In this article, we aim to analyze whether health taxes have achieved their primary purpose, namely discouraging the consumption of foods high in sugar and saturated fats, and consequently modifying eating habits. Additionally, we seek to examine whether the other measures implemented by the national government may have been responsible for these behavioral changes.