A recent study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has suggested that school soft drink bans do little to curb sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption among adolescents. Daniel Taber, et al., “Banning All Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Middle Schools,” Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, November 2011. Researchers in 2004 and 2007 surveyed approximately 7,000 fifth and eighth graders from public schools in 40 states, concluding that “SSB consumption was not associated with state policy.” In middle schools with no SSB policy and those that prohibited only soda sales, close to 30 percent of the students reported purchasing SSBs, including energy or fruit drinks, on campus. Moreover, the study found that state policies banning all SSBs in middle schools “appear to reduce in-school access and purchasing of SSBs but do not reduce overall consumption.” “We found that banning only sodas does nothing to stop kids from buying sugary drinks at…
Tag Archives soda/soft drink
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has issued an October 2011 report claiming that “young people are exposed to a massive amount of marketing for sugar drinks.” Titled Sugary Drink F.A.C.T.S.: Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score, the report apparently analyzes “600 products from 14 companies that contain added sugar,” including full-calorie soda, energy drinks and diet energy drinks, flavored water, sports drinks, iced tea, and diet children’s fruit juices. Researchers also reviewed traditional, digital and in-store marketing, as well as collected data on media exposure and spending from syndicated sources such as Nielsen, comScore Inc. and Arbitron Inc. In particular, the Rudd Center alleges that industry pledges to market fewer sweetened beverages to children have not curbed advertising for these products. Among its key findings, the report concludes that (i) “More than half of sugary drinks and energy drinks market positive ingredients on their packages, and…
A recent study has reportedly associated non-diet soft drink consumption among teenagers with an increased risk for violent tendencies, raising questions about the legitimacy of the so-called “Twinkie Defense” used in the 1979 trial of Dan White for the assassination of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. Sara Solnick and David Hemenway, “The ‘Twinkie Defense’: the relationship between carbonated non-diet soft drinks and violence perpetration among Boston high school students,” Injury Prevention, October 2011. A collaboration between Harvard School of Public Health Professor David Hemenway and University of Vermont Economics Professor Sara Solnick, the study relied on questionnaires completed by more than 1,800 Boston public high school students ages 14 to 18 years. According to an October 28, 2011, Harvard Crimson article, the results evidently showed that “teens who drank more soft drinks were between nine and fifteen percent more likely to be violent” even after researchers accounted for…
The parents of a 29-year-old who died after he fell into a vat of chocolate have filed a wrongful death action in a Pennsylvania state court against the company that owned the plant where he worked and a number of other defendants involved in manufacturing the allegedly faulty equipment that purportedly led to the accident. Smith v. Lyons & Sons, Inc., No. __ (Pa. Ct. Com. Pleas, Philadelphia Cty., filed July 1, 2011). The decedent allegedly slipped on a cardboard-covered platform made slippery with chocolate and other materials and fell into the vat through unguarded holes. The vat was “processing, mixing and melting chocolate at extremely high temperatures at the time.” Co-workers were allegedly unable to stop the vat from operating because the switch was not located on the platform. Alleging negligence, strict liability and breach of express and implied warranties, the plaintiffs seek damages in excess of $50,000. The…
U.K. researchers have reportedly linked sugar-sweetened beverages to a risk of high blood pressure, speculating that “one possible mechanism” for the association “is a resultant increase in the level of uric acid in the blood that may in turn lower the nitric oxide required to keep the blood vessels dilated.” Ian Brown, et al., “Sugar-Sweetened Beverage, Sugar Intake of Individuals, and Their Blood Pressure: International Study of Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure,” Hypertension, February 2011. Researchers apparently analyzed food survey, urine and blood pressure data from 2,696 participants enrolled in INTERMAP, or the International Study of Macronutrients, Micronutrients and Blood Pressure. According to a February 28, 2011, Imperial College of London press release, the results purportedly showed that “for every extra can of sugary drink consumed per day, participants on average had a higher systolic blood pressure by 1.6 mmHg and a higher diastolic blood pressure by 0.8 mmHg.” The study…
“Diet soda isn’t as addictive as drugs like nicotine, but something about it seems to make some people psychologically—and even physically—dependent on it,” opens this Health.com article on individuals who drink more than the average amount of diet soda per day. According to journalist Denise Mann, some diet soft drink aficionados imbibe anywhere from four cans to 2 liters every day, raising questions for medical professionals about whether these consumers are “true addicts.” The article cites self-reported “addicts” as well as researchers claiming, for instance, that some diet soda drinkers are simply swapping one compulsive behavior for another, or conditioning themselves to crave diet soft drinks while performing certain activities. But Mann also references research suggesting that “the artificial sweeteners in diet soda (such as aspartame) may prompt people to keep refilling their glass because these fake sugars don’t satisfy like the real thing.” In addition, she notes that although…
A study presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2011 has reportedly linked daily diet soda consumption “to a higher risk of stroke, heart attack and vascular-related deaths.” Led by University of Miami scientist Hannah Gardener, researchers analyzed soft drink consumption for 2,564 people enrolled in the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS), grouping participants into seven categories ranging from those who drank less than one soda of any kind per month, to those who reported daily regular or diet soda consumption. The study results evidently showed that, after an average follow-up of 9.3 years, participants who drank one diet soda every day “had a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events than those who reported no soda drinking.” “This study suggests that diet soda is not an optimal substitute to sugar-sweetened beverages, and may be associated with a greater risk of stroke,” Gardener was quoted as saying. She added,…
Ruling on a request by a non-governmental organization (NGO), two supreme court justices in India have reportedly asked the government to remove food and soft drink company representatives from food-safety standards and enforcement panels. According to the justices, the industry representation clearly breaches the mandate of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Under the law, government panel members must be independent scientific experts who may consult with the food industry and consumers before adopting standards regulating the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale, and import of food products. The NGO had reportedly sought a scientific investigation into the contents of soft drink beverages, claiming that their consumption is a major cause of adolescent obesity. An industry spokesperson apparently responded by calling obesity a rich man’s problem in a country where more than a third of the population lives below the poverty line. He cited the Indian Council for Medical Research, which…
The University of Southern California Childhood Obesity Research Center (CORC) has published a study claiming that high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contains 18 percent more fructose than estimated by soft drink manufacturers. Emily Ventura, Jaimie Davis and Michael I. Goran, “Sugar Content of Popular Sweetened Beverages Based on Objective Laboratory Analysis: Focus on Fructose Content,” Obesity, October 2010. According to the study, food and nutrition researchers usually assume that the ratio of fructose to glucose in HFCS is 55 to 45, based on information provided by the Corn Refiners Association. But after analyzing 23 sugar-sweetened beverages and four standard solutions with high-performance liquid chromatography, CORC allegedly determined that not only was the mean fructose content 59 percent, but that “several major brands appear to be produced with HFCS that is 65 [percent] fructose.” The study also raises questions about the other kind of sugars used in these beverages, reporting “significant deviations…
In a recent FindLaw article, Cornell Law School Professor Sherry Colb addresses whether New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to prevent food stamp recipients from buying sugar-sweetened sodas and beverages violates any constitutional proscriptions. Titled “No Buying Soda with Food Stamps? Considering Mayor Bloomberg’s New Health Initiative,” Colb’s article concludes that arguments about equal treatment for the poor and consumer freedom in general hold no weight given the overwhelming risks to public health posed by “unhealthy, empty-calorie food.” She expresses confidence that food stamp recipients will experience measurable benefits by avoiding some unhealthy foods, which will convince public officials to expand such initiatives “to take on various industries that profit at the expense of human health.” Meanwhile, a New York Times article discusses what prompted a writer and former Rutgers professor to begin the “Candy Professor” blog, which apparently “dives deep into the American relationship with candy, finding irrational and…
