Productivity loss associated with the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in Mexico

The objective of the study was to estimate the productivity loss by premature death, absenteeism and presenteeism attributable to sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption in Mexico in 2014. We used population attributable fractions due to SSBs for diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. We gathered information from a variety of publicly available sources: mortality data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography; hospital discharges and outpatient visits from the Health Ministry; and productivity (measured in wages earned) from the National Occupation and Employment Survey. We estimated a total productivity loss of 1426.6 million USD attributable to SSB consumption. 56.9% of the attributable productivity loss was due to premature mortality and 41.1% was reduced productivity through presenteeism. Diabetes was the main cause of productivity loss (92.1% of premature death-related productivity loss and 99.8% from presenteeism). SSB consumption leads to a considerable loss of productivity in Mexico. Findings emphasize the need to strengthen fiscal policies to reduce or eliminate these indirect costs associated with SSB consumption.