A 10% tax on sugar sweetened drinks could reduce the number of Irish people who would otherwise become overweight or obese by 14,000, the Irish Heart Foundation (IHF) has claimed.

The figures are based on a health impact assessment (HIA), which was commissioned by the Health Minister, Dr James Reilly, and was presented at the IHF's Euroheart Seminar in Dublin.

Irish people currently consume an average of 83 litres of fizzy drinks per year, with teenage boys the biggest culprits.

According to IHF chief executive, Barry Dempsey, the findings of the HIA show that the government must get serious about tackling the problem of obesity. The foundation is calling on the government to introduce a tax on sugar sweetened drinks to help tackle the problem.

"Obesity is a major public health burden costing the state €1.1bn a year and it is putting children and adults at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of death here.

"Sugar sweetened drinks have little or no nutritional value and they are packed with calories. The introduction of a tax to drive down consumption of these beverages seems like a no-brainer to protect our children," Mr Dempsey commented.

As part of the HIA, Dr Mike Rayner, director of the British Heart Foundation's Health Promotion Research Group, was asked to model the effects of a 10% sugary drink tax on overweight and obesity.

He estimated that such a tax could lead to a 1.25% reduction in obesity - this is equivalent to 10,000 adults in Ireland. Including overweight as well, this equates to 14,000 people in total.

Dr Rayner said the greatest effects would be seen in younger people and those who regularly consume these kinds of drinks.

Meanwhile, according to the HIA's main author, Dr Noelle Cotter, of the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, current figures estimate that as many as 15% of two-to-four year-olds in Ireland are already overweight, while 3% are obese.

She insisted that while obesity is a complex issue that requires many different approaches, the food environment is one area that can and must be targeted.

The IHF's call comes just one day after new research from the US linked the consumption of sugary drinks to some 180,000 deaths worldwide. For more on that story, click here