PLOS Med
Sugary drink taxes show no impact on fast-food beverage calories
Clinical takeaway: Even with local taxes on high-sugar beverages, fast-food environments are likely to remain a tempting point of consumption given pricing, packaging and consumer behavior.
Taxes on sugary drinks have reduced purchases in grocery settings, but their impact in restaurants has been unclear. This study suggests that those gains may not translate to fast food.
Researchers analyzed nearly 7 billion transactions from more than 7,300 Taco Bell locations over six years in five U.S. cities. Beverage calories per transaction didn't change meaningfully after the tax implementation compared with similar locations without taxes, including both individual drinks and combo meals.
Findings were consistent across most jurisdictions, with limited exceptions that did not persist after accounting for ordering patterns. Overall, taxes of this size were not associated with reduced beverage calories in this setting. Restaurant-specific factors may explain the difference. Consumers often purchase bundled combo meals or may be less responsive to small price increases in fast-food settings.
“These results suggest that sugary drink taxes may not be effective in reducing beverage calorie consumption in fast food restaurants,” summed up study author Dr. Pasquale Rummo of NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Source: Rummo PE, et al. PLOS Med. April 2, 2026. Impact of sugary drink taxes on beverage calories purchased in a national fast food restaurant chain: A quasi-experimental study