The journal PLoS Medicine has published two articles and an editorial in a “major new series” on “Big Food” in this week’s issue, and will publish five additional related articles over the next two weeks. The editorial notes that the articles, focusing on “the role in health of Big Food, which we define as the multinational food and beverage industry with huge and concentrated market power,” were selected under the guidance of guest editors Marion Nestle of New York University and David Stuckler of Cambridge University. Contending that Big Food has “an undeniably influential presence on the global health stage,” the editorial introduces the other articles and observes, “We decided not to provide a forum for the industry to offer a perspective on their role in global health, since this point of view has been covered many times before and fails to acknowledge their role in subverting the public health agenda,…
Tag Archives SSB
The director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity recently authored an article in The Atlantic arguing in favor of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s (DOHMH) proposal to limit the size of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) sold in restaurants and other food service establishments. According to Kelly Brownell, industry opposition to the measure is rooted in concern over profits, which “increase as people buy bigger portions” since “the cost for the soda companies and restaurants to serve larger sizes may be mere cents for a larger cup and the extra liquid.” As a result, he says, soda manufacturers have banded together to voice their opposition to the measure, a campaign that Brownell anticipates will include lawsuits as well as “new industry-funded studies that will show, contrary to the large number of existing studies, that portion size does not have an effect on eating or…
The American Medical Association (AMA) has reportedly championed taxes on sugar-sweetened sodas as a way to fight obesity. Although it failed to pass a policy that outright supports such a measure, the AMA recognized during its recent annual meeting that “while a number of factors contribute to the obesity epidemic, taxes on beverages with added sweeteners are one way to finance consumer education campaigns and other obesity-related programs.” To that end, the physicians group voted to adopt a policy supporting obesity-prevention education for children and teens in public schools that encourages doctors to volunteer to teach classes on causes, consequences and prevention. “I can’t tell you the number of 40-pound 1 year-olds I see every day,” pediatrician Melissa Garretson was quoted as saying. See AMA Press Release, June 20, 2012; Associated Press, June 21, 2012.
University of Chicago Economics Professor Gary Becker and Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Justice Richard Posner have posted comments on their blog about New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. Becker concludes that “even when consumer decisions are not in their self-interest, it is questionable whether that provides sufficient grounding for government efforts to regulate and tax these decisions.” His most fundamental concern is that government bureaucrats may not “generally understand why consumers make defective decisions” or whether particular polices will effectively address the issue. He argues, “One should require evidence that the great majority of obese adult individuals do not make the connection with health before trying to restrict their consumption.” And he points out that if 16-ounce drinks are no longer available in New York, consumers may then substitute two 10-ounce drinks and thus increase their total consumption. Justice Posner agrees “that one…
The New York City Board of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has called a July 24, 2012, public hearing to gather feedback on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s recommendation to limit the size of sugar-sweetened beverages sold at local food service establishments. The 11 member board reportedly voted unanimously at a June 12, 2012, meeting to publish the proposal, which would amend Article 81 of the Health Code to establish a maximum serving size of 16 ounces for sugary non-alcoholic drinks and all self-service cups. If adopted by DOHMH on September 13, the amendment would apply to restaurants, food carts, delis, movie theaters, stadiums, and arenas while also imposing a $200 fine for each violation of the code. According to the notice of public hearing, the proposal seeks to address rising obesity rates among city residents by “reacquainting New Yorkers with more appropriate portion sizes.” The plan has apparently drawn support from…
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (I) Task Force on Obesity recently garnered national attention by proposing to limit the size of sugar-sweetened beverages sold at local food service establishments. In a May 31, 2012, report outlining several public health initiatives, the Task Force claims that “[s]ugary drink portion sizes have exploded over recent years” and urges a maximum size for these beverages as a way “to help reacquaint New Yorkers with ‘human size’ portions.” To this end, Bloomberg has introduced a measure that—if adopted by the city’s Board of Health at a June 12 hearing—would prohibit restaurants, food carts, delis, movie theaters, stadiums, and arenas from offering sugar-sweetened beverages in sizes that exceed 16 ounces. “Limiting the size of sugary drinks to no more than 16 ounces at food service establishments will help us confront the obesity and diabetes epidemics, which now affect millions of New Yorkers,” said Health…
A recent study has allegedly linked sugary drink consumption to narrowed retinal blood vessels in children as young as age 12, raising concerns about the youths’ long-term cardiovascular health. Bamini Gopinath, et al., “Carbohydrate nutrition is associated with changes in the retinal vascular structure and branching pattern in children,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2012. Designed to determine whether high-glycemic index (high-GI), high-glycemic load (high-GL) or carbohydrate-laden diets could lead to small vessel dysfunction, the study selected 12-year-old students from 21 schools to undergo “detailed eye examinations” measuring retinal vessel caliber and fractal dimension, that is, “the single ‘global’ measure of the branching pattern of retinal blood vessels as a whole.” In particular, the study noted that narrower arteriolar caliber and wider venular caliber have been associated with incident hypertension and CVD [cardiovascular disease], whereas fractal dimension has been associated with higher blood pressure, acute lacunar stroke and coronary…
A study based on 42,883 men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study has allegedly determined that those who drank one 12 ounce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) per day increased their coronary heart disease (CHD) risk by 20 percent over those who did not drink any SSBs. Lawrence de Koning, et al., “Sweetened Beverage Consumption, Incident Coronary Heart Disease and Biomarkers of Risk in Men,” Circulation, March 2012. Led by Harvard School of Public Health researchers Lawrence de Koning and Frank Hu, the study, which reported 3,683 CHD cases over 22 years of follow-up, concluded that participants “in the top quartile of sugar-sweetened beverage intake had a 20 percent higher relative risk of CHD than those in the bottom quartile” while also exhibiting “some adverse changes in lipids, inflammatory factors, and leptin.” “This study adds to the growing evidence that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health. Certainly, it provides strong justification for…
A recent pooled analysis from 14 prospective cohort studies has reportedly confirmed “a suggestive, modest positive association” between sugar-sweetened carbonated beverage (SSB) consumption and increased pancreatic cancer risk. Jeanine Genkinger, et al., “Coffee, Tea and Sugar-Sweetened Carbonated Soft Drink Intake and Pancreatic Cancer Risk: A Pooled Analysis of 14 Cohort Studies,” Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, February 2012. After examining data from 317,827 men and 536,066 women, the study purportedly found that (i) “coffee consumption was not associated with pancreatic cancer risk overall”; (ii) “no statistically significant association was observed between tea intake and pancreatic cancer”; and, (iii) for modest intakes of SSBs, “there was a suggestive and slightly positive association . . . which reached statistical significance in certain subgroups of participants (e.g., nondiabetics, nondrinkers of alcohol).” These results evidently confirmed one Japanese cohort study as well as the Singapore Chinese Health Study covered in Issue 337 of this…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has announced“a national advocacy conference to motivate and strengthen national, state, and local initiatives, both public and private, to reduce sugary-drink consumption in the United States.” Scheduled for June 7-8, 2012, in Washington, D.C., the meeting is apparently designed for “researchers, government officials, state and local legislators, health professionals, low-income and minority advocates, youth activists, consumer groups, faith-based organizations, health insurers, and business leaders” to “strategize to improve public health” and “add momentum to a growing public health movement.”
