A 20 per cent tax on sugary drinks could reduce obesity rates in the UK by five per cent by 2025 - equal to 3.7 million fewer obese  people - according to a new report from Cancer Research UK and the UK Health Forum published today (Friday). 

The report predicts the impact a 20 per cent sugary drinks tax could have on obesity if current trends continue. This stark number (3.7  million) is equivalent to the combined populations of Birmingham,  Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Bristol and Leicester. 

More than one in five (22.3%) children in the South West are overweight or obese when they enter primary school, and alarmingly this increases to nearly one in three (30.5%) in year 6. 

This is why, says Cancer Research UK, the organisation is calling on the Government to take action. The study also predicts that the tax could save the NHS about £10 million across the UK in healthcare and social care costs in 2025  alone.