New Publication in Obesity Reviews by HEAL-Oral Health Members

The article, “The Impact of Front-of-Pack Labeling on Social Inequality in Sugar Consumption and Purchase: A Systematic Review”, found that while front-of-pack labelling can reduce sugar consumption at the population level, evidence on its impact on socioeconomic inequalities in high sugar consumption remains inconclusive and inconsistent.

This highlights an important challenge for public health policy. If our goal is to reduce social inequalities in sugar-related health outcomes, we need to move beyond interventions that improve average population outcomes alone. Interventions must also address the underlying social patterning of unhealthy diets and ensure benefits are equitably distributed across communities.

Front-of-pack labelling remains an important public health strategy, but on its own it is unlikely to be sufficient to reduce inequalities in health outcomes related to high sugar consumption.

Z. Ge, C. H. Marck, A. Gupta, G. Kaur, R. McGrath, and A. Singh, “The Impact of Front-of-Pack Labeling on Social Inequality in Sugar Consumption and Purchase: A Systematic Review,” Obesity Reviews (2026): e70150, https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.70150.

Media Highlights

• University of Sydney media release: Limited evidence to suggest food labels reduce sugar intake among low-income groups: research
• Medical Xpress: Limited evidence to suggest food labels reduce sugar intake among low-income groups
• Nutrition Insight: Front-of-pack labels show limited evidence of reducing sugar consumption among low-income groups
• EurekAlert!: Limited evidence to suggest food labels reduce sugar intake among low-income groups