NEJM Publishes Results of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Poll

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) has published the results of a recent poll asking readers whether governments should regulate sugar-sweetened beverages. After presenting two arguments for and against government regulation, the poll received 1,290 votes from readers in 75 countries, with 68 percent of voters favoring “regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages to help reduce the burden of obesity.” In particular, the NEJM pollsters noted that the one outlier was the United States, where only 58 percent of voters favored regulation compared to the 84 percent from other countries.

“Readers opposed to government regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages pointed out that the problem of obesity involves much more than the excess consumption of sugary drinks and that limitations on portion size or taxes on soft drinks will not alter the fundamental issue—that people need to change the way they live their lives,” concluded the “Clinical Decisions” article, which also included reader comments arguing for regulation as part of a comprehensive public health effort. In addition, some voters apparently highlighted “the irony of government regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages at the same time that the government is providing generous subsidies to agricultural producers of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, the very products that are helping to fuel the obesity epidemic.” See NEJM, January 17, 2013.