Companies Should Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

With obesity rates increasing at an exponential rate, a tax on fat foods and specifically high sugar beverages of 20% or about 1 cent per ounce could reduce obesity rates by 3.5%, bringing the rate down to 30% among adults (Kalaidis). While 3.5% may not sound like a lot, if you take an approximate U.S. population of 350 million people, suddenly that mere 3.5% turns into over 12 million Americans who would no longer be considered obese. Marion Nestle, a well-respected expert in food policy, recently conducted a study investigating the impact of a junk food tax through predictive modeling. Her study revealed that 2,600 deaths, 9,500 heart attacks, and 240,000 new cases of diabetes could be prevented with a simple 1 cent per ounce tax on sugary beverages (Satran). A junk food tax of this kind could greatly increase the health of the American public as a whole by reducing death rates and healthcare

Obesity and diabetes are diseases affected by poor diet. These health problems, caused by overdrinking sugary drinks are increasing the health care cost paid. Public funds are used to pay these cost through Medicare and Medicaid. Some people insist that these drinks should carry a higher tax to keep people from consuming and also to help cover medical cost. But these companies have battled hard against this , saying their products are being singled out unfairly.Some people argue that taxing sugary drinks won’t decrease the rate of obesity and even change the consumer behavior. However, studies have shown that increasing the price for sugary drinks have actually reduce purchase and also drop the rates of diabetes and obesity.

Sugary beverages suggest a poor dietary quality; they are loaded with added sugars and attribute to the body’s energy density. “A 20-year study on 120,000 men and women found that people who increased their sugary drink consumption by one 12-ounce serving per day gained more weight over time—about 4 pounds per year” (19). Through increasing the daily intake in trivial increments, the body substantially results in an increased BMI (body mass index) and an increased body fat percentage score. Another study conducted at Harvard found that a 60 percent increase occurs in children for each 12-ounce they additionally drink daily. (________) The growing correlation between obesity and sugar has led to further studies, and statistical data. Researchers have revealed that in total, “half the people in the U.S. consume sugary drinks; 1 in 4 get at least 200 calories from such drinks; and 5% get at least 567 calories.” It was additionally found that one-fourth of Americans are consuming more than 135 grams of sugar per day from soda and other sweetened beverages, which compares to people of the past who only had 10 grams of fructose a day (_____). Such a high daily intake of sugar and calories illustrates the risk that arises when people consume too much sugar; that is, sugary drinks result in weight issues and medical consequences.

More than 35% of American adults are obese and as a consequence, are at increased risks for health issues such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes ("Overweight & Obesity"). The U.S. taxpayer is supplementing much of the cost to treat obesity related health issues through public health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid ("Economic Costs"). A positive externality will occur in the form of decreased health care expenditures on Medicare and Medicaid. The U.S. government should impose an excise tax on soda and other beverages that contain sugar. Consumers who drink excess sugary beverages impose a negative internality on their health; as well as imposing a negative externality on the American

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) the health of the people in the United States has not always been the greatest. With an obesity rate of 33.9 percent, which translates into over 106 million obese Americans, this has caused many problems to arise and impact the daily lives of Americans. Many have tried to help in regards to this issue by improving school foods or attempting to encourage more physical activity. Unfortunately, these may have helped but only in a small scale. However, a fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Mark Bittman believes that he may have a definitive solution. On May 25, 2016, in “Taxing Sugar to Fund a City” New York Times food journalist, Mark Bittman, by using the taxing of sugary beverages in Philadelphia - America’s poorest big city - earnestly

Recently, people have become worried about the health issues associated with consuming sugary drinks, especially soda. The rate of people being diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease has been going up primarily because of beverages with added sugar (Cited in Crawford, 2016). Several studies have found that soda is linked to over 180,000 deaths per year (Cited in Crawford, 2016). An article by the Huffington Post (2011) said that an average American drinks about 44.7 gallons of carbonated beverages a year, which adds up to over 350 pounds of soda. Comparatively, in 2005 an average American drank only 0.5 gallons, making soft drinks the most consumed beverage in America (n/a, 2011). The way the government is trying to fix

A single can of soda can have at least ten teaspoons of sugar, that is already the daily maximum recommended intake. Sugar can increase cholesterol levels, heart disease, diabetes and weight gain.Moreover. The obesity is a colossal problem in America. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 35.9% of U.S. adults over the age of twenty are obese (CDC, 2013). The CDC also notes that 69.2% of U.S. adults twenty years of age and over are overweight. The obesity problem does not only affect adults in the U.S. The CDC notes that 18.4% of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 are currently obese (CDC, 2013). These numbers show the harshness of the obesity problem in this

"WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco” (Tama, M., 2015). Will this warning detour the American public from drinking sugary beverages? In 2011-2013, the Center for Disease Control reported that two states Colorado and Hawaii had less than 20% obesity. The Midwest led the country with a 28.7% obesity rate. When surveyed again in 2013, the South now leads the countries obesity epidemic with 30.2 % and the Midwest comes in a close second with 30.1%. There are no longer any states that fall beneath the 20% threshold (Obesity Prevalence Maps, 2013). With obesity rates rising, researchers are focusing on what leads to these statistics so that it can be reversed. These startling statistics requires action to be taken to reverse this growing epidemic. Obesity, Tooth decay, and Type 2 Diabetes have been linked to negative side effects of sugary beverages. As a leader in healthcare, Mayo Clinic should remove sugary drinks and foods from their hospitals, clinics, and health systems to model healthy living.

There’s a consistent flood of warnings these days about the widespread habit of drinking sugar-laden soda, with most focusing on obesity-related health issues.

In addition, taxing sugary drinks will help collect more revenue for health promotion and economy deficit..

With a growing epidemic of obesity in America, some states and lawmakers have resorted to taking unconventional measures in order to counter the growing issue. Many legislators are debating the effectiveness of a “fat tax” would be on limiting the consumption of soda, high fat foods, and high sugar foods, and ultimately reducing the rate of morbidity and mortality due to obesity. The idea is that long term consumption of high fat, high sugar foods and drinks lead to many health problems, so making them more expensive and less accessible should decrease the health issues related to their consumption.

People nowadays generally believe that, by simply consuming artificial sweetened food product like diet soda instead of naturally sweetened food product could help them researching their weight loss goal without changing any of their dietary habit. Most of them had gain this knowledge through advertisements on television, magazine, or the internet. America, being the highest soda consumption country, average on 170 liters per year per person, has the most serious obesity problem in the world. According to JAMA Internal Medicine, 75 percent of men and 67 percent of women ages 25 and older are now overweight or obese. Where about one-fifth of the soda in America are labeled as “diet” drinks, and most of them use aspartame

We can all agree on the detriments of obesity, but what is the main cause of the skyrocketing rates of obesity? According to former New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, sugary drinks, which have limited nutritious value, are the greatest source of added sugar in most people’s diets, hence, the high obesity rates (633). Others, on the other hand, say there is more than one cause to obesity and sugary drinks are not to blame. One popular solution to this obesity epidemic that has been proposed is the taxation by the government of sugary drinks. The idea behind this proposal is to discourage the consumption of sugar by financially penalizing its consumption. Prestigious doctors and nutritionists believe this tax will indeed help cut obesity rates just like the highly-successful tobacco taxes of the past. While they are some people who oppose the measure of taxing, the taxation of sugary drinks is something the government and the society would benefit from.

As we hear of more studies exclaiming alarming findings of negative health concerns related to obesity and our continuously growing percentage of obesity in our country, particularly childhood obesity, sugar is in the spotlight. We often hear of dieticians and weight loss experts warning us that we

Considering that soft drinks are one of the most popular drinks to a lot of people all around the world, unfortunately, a lot of them love to drink it almost every day and may not live without it. Soda becomes addictive, preventing one from drinking what the body needs the most which is water. In the market, there is a infinite amount of choices with multiple varieties of flavors, different tastes, ranges from classic soda to diet soda. However, consumers do not recognize clearly the negative effect of soft drinks that have a high chance of eroding their health away. Some of these examples include dental erosion, energy intake, obesity and other health issues. Nowadays, people live a healthy life to avoid health problems, so taxes on soft