Diabetes experts tell G20 to tax sugar to save lives and money

She urged leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) of the world's major advanced and emerging economies, who are meeting in Turkey on Nov. 15-16, to cooperate in fighting obesity in the same way as they acted together in the 2008 financial crisis.

Wilson said the call was part of an ongoing IDF campaign and there was no sign as yet if the G20 would address the topic.

By 2040, one in every 10 adults on the planet are expected to be diabetic, with cases projected to reach 642 million against 415 million in 2015 and healthcare spending on diabetes rising to $802 billion from $673 billion.

Some countries, including Mexico, Chile and France, have already experimented with different variations of sugar taxation but there are considerable political obstacles, as well as resistance from the food industry.

Mexico, for example, has seen calls by some lawmakers for a halving in the country's sugar tax. British Prime Minister David Cameron came out a against such a tax last month, despite a high-profile campaign for a levy on sugary drinks and food.

Wilson, whose immediate focus is on getting governments to back a tax on sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages, admits there are hurdles but argues politicians need to protect public health by learning the lessons from tobacco.

"It is very well established that heavy taxation on tobacco and relentless reinforcement of the message that tobacco is unhealthy has had a very good effect. It is time now we adopted a similar approach with sugar," she told Reuters.

"It is, of course, more difficult with sugar because whilst people can live entirely without tobacco, they can't live entirely without sugar - but humans can live without added sugars."