Senators Join Call for Surgeon General Report on Sugary Drinks

U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Richard
Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have reportedly joined the American Cancer Society’s
Cancer Action Network and a coalition of federal, state and local public health
organizations in urging U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin to investigate
the alleged association between sugar-sweetened drinks and rising obesity
rates. According to a September 12, 2012, letter, the senators have asked
Benjamin to conduct a study that would determine “the impact of sugary
drinks on rates of American obesity and whether public health proposals that
target sugary beverages will positively impact public health.”

“As America’s waistline has expanded, so too has our access to sugary drinks,”
states the letter. “Beverages like soda, sports drinks, lemonade, juice drinks,
and sweetened teas are cheap and available everywhere. Doctors and public
health experts recommend limiting and reducing the consumption of sugary
drinks, especially in children, but kids and adults drink twice the amount of
soda that they did three decades ago.”

Additional details about previous requests for a Surgeon General report on
sugary drinks appear in Issues 446 and 447 of this Update.