BackgroundOn October 1, 2014, the Chilean government modified its previous sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax, increasing the tax rate from 13% to 18% on industrialized beverages with high levels of sugar (H-SSBs) (greater than 6.25 grams [g] sugar/100 milliliters [mL]) and decreasing the tax rate from 13% to 10% on industrialized beverages with low or no sugar (L-SSBs) (less than 6.25 g sugar/100 mL). This study examines changes in beverage prices and household beverage purchases following the implementation of the tax reform.Methods and findingsWe used longitudinal data collected between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2015, from 2,000 households. We defined the pretax period as January 1, 2013, to September 30, 2014, and the posttax period as October 1, 2014, to December 31, 2015. We conducted a pre–post analysis for changes in prices and purchases, with the latter examined by volume and calories. We compared posttax changes in prices and purchases to a counterfactual, defined as what would have been expected in the posttax period based on pretax trends. All results are stated as comparisons to this counterfactual. We linked beverages at the bar code level to nutrition facts panel data collected by a team of Chilean nutritionists who categorized them by taxation level and beverage subcategory, which included carbonated and noncarbonated H-SSBs and concentrated, ready-to-drink L-SSBs and untaxed beverages. We reconstituted concentrated beverages and analyzed all beverages using as-consumed volumes and calories. Posttax monthly prices of H-SSBs increased, but these changes were small. Prices of carbonated H-SSBs increased by 2.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0%–3.0%), while those of noncarbonated H-SSBs increased by 3.9% (95% CI 1.6%–6.2%). Prices of L-SSB concentrates decreased after the tax by 6.7% (95% CI −8.2%–−4.6%), and prices of ready-to-drink L-SSBs increased by 1.5% (95% CI 0.3%–2.7%). Households decreased monthly per capita purchases of H-SSBs by 3.4% by volume (95% CI −5.9%–−0.9%) and 4.0% by calories (95% CI −6.3%–−1.9%), and this change was greater among high socioeconomic status (SES) households. The volume of household purchases of L-SSBs increased 10.7% (95% CI 7.5%–13.9%), while that of untaxed beverage purchases decreased by 3.1% (95% CI −5.1%–−1.1%). The main limitation of this study was that there was no control group, so we were unable to assess the causal impact of the tax.ConclusionsThe modifications of Chile’s SSB tax were small, and observed changes in prices and purchases of beverages after the tax were also small. Our results are consistent with previous evidence indicating that small increases in SSB taxes are unlikely to promote large enough changes in SSB purchases to reduce obesity and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies are characterized by the intracellular accumulation of insoluble filaments of the microtubule-associated protein tau. The six canonical tau isoforms in the adult brain consist of an N-terminal "projection" domain followed by a proline-rich region, a microtubule-binding repeat region, and a C-terminal tail. However, alternative splicing in exon 6 produces an additional set of tau isoforms, termed 6D and 6P, which contain only the N-terminus and part of the proline-rich region. We have previously shown that constructs representing N-terminal fragments of tau, which resemble the naturally occurring 6P and 6D isoforms, inhibit polymerization of the full-length protein in an in vitro filament formation assay, and traced the inhibitory activity to amino acids 18-42. Here we report that 6P and 6D tau isoforms inhibit polymerization of full-length tau (hTau40) in a similar manner, likely by stabilizing full-length tau in a soluble conformation. The absence of exons 2 and 3 decreased the effectiveness of the 6D isoforms, but not the 6P variants or the N-terminal tau fragments from our previous study, indicating that the 18-42 region is not the sole determinant of inhibitory ability. Finally, this paper demonstrates that inhibition is blocked by pseudophosphorylation of tyrosines 18 and 29, providing a potential link between tyrosine phosphorylation and disease progression. Taken together, these results indicate that the 6P/6D isoforms are potential endogenous inhibitors of tau filament formation, and suggest a mechanism by which this ability may be disrupted in disease.The microtubule-associated protein tau forms intracellular, filamentous aggregates in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. The formation of tau pathology is thought to be intimately linked to neurodegeneration, in part because the appearance of tau pathology in AD follows a spatial and temporal progression through the anatomical regions that underlie the clinical symptoms. Filamentous tau deposition is first found in areas associated with learning and memory, and later spreads through much of the cerebral cortex (reviewed in (1)). Yet even in severe AD some areas, including the cerebellum and primary sensory-motor areas, remain relatively free of tau pathology (2-4). Identifying the differences between susceptible and protected neuronal populations, including endogenous triggers and inhibitors of tau aggregation, may be crucial to understanding selective cellular vulnerability in AD.Although tau was historically considered to be an unstructured protein in solution, recent evidence indicates that soluble tau occupies a number of folded states, and that these conformations influence tau's propensity to form filaments. The amino terminus of tau has † Supported by NIH Awards NS049834 (N.L.), AG09466 (L.I.B).

Faced with increasing rates of childhood obesity, the U.K. government has recently introduced stricter regulations to reduce children's exposure to advertising of foods high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS). The purpose of our paper is to quantify the impact of HFSS regulations on household expenditures in Devant l'augmentation de l'obésité infantile, le gouvernement du Royaume-Uni a introduit récemment une régulation plus stricte pour diminuer l'exposition des enfants aux publicités d'aliments gras, sucrés et salés (en anglais, produits â HFSS â). L'objectif de notre article est de quantifier l'impact de cette réglementation sur les achats lors de trois phases représentantes de l'évolution de la réglementation

Taxes on unhealthy foods and sweetened beverages, as well as subsidies to healthy foods, have become increasingly popular strategies to curb obesity and related non-communicable diseases. The existing evidence on the welfare effects of such fiscal policies is mixed and almost uniquely focused on tax schemes. Using the 2016-2017 Chilean Household Budget Survey, we estimate a censored Exact Affine Stone Index (EASI) incomplete demand system and simulate changes in purchases, tax incidence, and consumer welfare of three different policy scenarios: (1) a 5 percentage point additional tax on sweetened beverages (currently taxed at 18%) and a new 18% tax on sweets and snacks, (2) a healthy subsidy by zero-rating fruits and vegetables from the current 19% value-added tax, and (3) a combined (tax plus subsidy) policy. Under full pass-through of these policies, the combined scheme captures the incentives to switch purchases from both single-policy alternatives, resulting in a net welfare gain and subsidy transfer for the average Chilean household. In terms of welfare, low-income households strictly benefit from a combined policy, while high-income households experience a small consumer welfare loss, resulting in re-distributional effects.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore fruit and vegetable (FV) procurement disparity across income groups. Design/methodology/approach This study uses mean comparison and quintile regression to explain FVs variations. Findings Households from the highest income quantile spend more than two times on FVs than households from the lowest quantile; however, this expenditure disparity is largely mitigated in terms of purchase quantity. This paper presents evidence that, rather than quantity discounts or income neighborhood, the type of store (traditional markets vs supermarkets) plays a relevant role in explaining the smaller gap in terms of purchase quantity. Research limitations/implications Traditional markets help low-income households access low-cost FVs. Social implications The authors generate evidence to show that traditional markets play a relevant role to supply affordable FV to low-income households. Originality/value The paper used a high-quality and uncommon data set. It is a topic of high social impact.