[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-108652-en":3,"doc-seo-108652-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},108652,7971461740886,"Theodore","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2",8,"Research & Report","Guiding Taxation Policy with Science - Tonga's Nutrient Profile Model - Policy Note","Tonga faces a severe NCD burden with extremely high levels of overweight and obesity, driving elevated risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, and multiple cancers. To address unhealthy dietary behaviors, the Government introduced food and beverage taxation, but past results were mixed due to substitution toward untaxed, cheaper, and/or low-quality products and regressive impacts for vulnerable groups. The policy note develops an evidence-based, nondiscriminatory nutrient profile model to set thresholds for healthier versus less healthy foods, supporting targeted diet-related taxes and subsidies.","Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Pub l ic Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized  \nPublic  \nPolicy Note  \nGuiding Taxation Policy with Science: Tonga's Nutrient Profile Model  \nGovernment of Japan  \nPOLICY NOTE  \nGuiding Taxation Policy with Science: Tonga’s Nutrient Profile Model  \nA ticking time bomb: At 83 percent, Tonga is facing some of the highest NCD-related death rates in the world. Prevalence of overweight (BMI≥25 kg/m²) is over 91 percent, while the prevalence of obesity (BMI≥30 kg/m²) is 68 percent. Obesity and overweight increase the likelihood of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders, and several types of cancer. Tonga has just three years remaining, that is, until 2025, to meet the commitments and targets for reducing thenoncommunicable disease (NCD) burden, including a 25 percent reduction in the NCD related premature mortality adopted by the World Health Assembly. Poor dietary behaviors are one of the most significant risk factors.  \nIn response to this ‘NCD crisis’ the Government of Tonga has gradually introduced food and beverage taxation measures to influence consumption behaviors ofthe population, that complement existing regulatory and legislative interventions. However, results have been  \nmixed. A World Bank study from 2019 that aimed to monitor and evaluate Tonga’s tax policy found that while some unhealthy foods were eaten less, many consumers were swapping to other, cheaper, and/or low-quality unhealthy food products, that were not subject to taxation. Also, negative, unintended consequences for some lower-income groups and among the outer islands were identified (e.g. regressive effects from taxing chicken leg quarters) .  \nTonga sought further technical assistance from the World Bank to provide an unambiguous, evidence-based, and nondiscriminatory nutrient profile model (NPM) to underpin future taxation targets addressing the intake of fat, salt, and sugar. Nutrient profiling is a way of classifying or ranking foods according to their nutritional composition. Its science provides a means of differentiating between food and nonalcoholic beverages (henceforth “foods”) that are more likely to be part of a healthy diet from those that are less likely (notably those foods that may contribute  \nThe policy note is prepared by Sutayut Osornprasop, Jutta Krahn, and Sarah Mounsey.  \n2  \nPOLICY NOTE  \nGuiding Taxation Policy with Science: Tonga’s Nutrient Profile Model  \nto excess consumption of energy, saturated fats, trans fats, sugar, and salt) . While most NPMs have been developed to address the global concern for rising childhood and adolescent obesity (for example, restrictions on marketing and advertising aimed at children and informing school guidelines), NPMs also provide an opportunity to inform the design of targeted diet-related taxes and subsidies.  \nPeople in Tonga have adopted very unhealthy dietary behaviors. Fifty percent of Tongan households’ food expenditure is on imported and often unhealthy food items,(e.g. corned beef, instant noodles, and SSBs) . Inexpensive, local and healthy alternatives are limited. Furthermore, many locally produced foods likely to be substitutes, are unlabeled, and therefore, consumers are unable to make informed decisions towards healthier alternatives. Tonga’s Food Act, 2014 (Tonga Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Food Division, 2014) makes provisions for penalizing the import (and export) of ‘unwholesome food’; however, it provides no definition of what  \nthis means except that ‘due regard shall be given to only the probable effect of such food on health by those consuming it, but also the probable cumulative effects of such articles’. Also, labelling requirements do not stipulate nutritional information.  \nA World Bank statistical analysis of Tonga’s 2016 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) provided estimates of per capita daily nutrient intakes. Findings showed excess intakes of added sugar, sodiu","cbCaimVKeaEeAh1M","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimVKeaEeAh1M","pdf",6306405,3,1,6,"English","en",105,"# Policy Note\n## NCD crisis and taxation context\n## Nutrient profiling and purpose of the NPM\n## Food system, labeling, and regulatory gaps\n## Evidence from the 2016 HIES and nutrients of concern\n## Designing thresholds for healthier foods\n## Policy coherence and implementation considerations","[{\"question\":\"Why does Tonga need science-guided food and beverage taxation?\",\"answer\":\"Tonga has very high NCD-related death rates and widespread overweight and obesity. Unhealthy dietary behaviors are a major risk factor, so taxation needs evidence-based design to reduce intake of fat, salt, and sugar.\"},{\"question\":\"What problem emerged from earlier Tonga tax measures?\",\"answer\":\"The outcomes were mixed because some unhealthy foods were eaten less, while many consumers switched to other cheaper and/or low-quality unhealthy products not covered by taxation. The measures also produced negative unintended effects for some lower-income groups and outer islands.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) used for in this policy note?\",\"answer\":\"The NPM classifies or ranks foods based on nutritional composition to differentiate healthier foods from less healthy ones. It is used to inform administratively simple but systematic fiscal policy by setting thresholds for targeted diet-related taxes and subsidies.\"}]",1784472960,15,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":28},"guiding-taxation-policy-with-science-tongas-nutrient-profile-model-policy-note","",{"@graph":36,"@context":85},[37,53,68],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,50],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/guiding-taxation-policy-with-science-tongas-nutrient-profile-model-policy-note/108652/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":41,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-30","2026-07-19",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"Why does Tonga need science-guided food and beverage taxation?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"Tonga has very high NCD-related death rates and widespread overweight and obesity. Unhealthy dietary behaviors are a major risk factor, so taxation needs evidence-based design to reduce intake of fat, salt, and sugar.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"What problem emerged from earlier Tonga tax measures?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"The outcomes were mixed because some unhealthy foods were eaten less, while many consumers switched to other cheaper and/or low-quality unhealthy products not covered by taxation. The measures also produced negative unintended effects for some lower-income groups and outer islands.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"What is the Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) used for in this policy note?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"The NPM classifies or ranks foods based on nutritional composition to differentiate healthier foods from less healthy ones. It is used to inform administratively simple but systematic fiscal policy by setting thresholds for targeted diet-related taxes and subsidies.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,101,105,110,114,119,122,127,130,134],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},30,"research-report",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]