A recent study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Heart Association claims that a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would reduce consumption by 15 percent among adults ages 25 to 64 years. Y. Claire Wang, et al., “A Penny-Per Ounce Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Would Cut Health and Cost Burdens of Diabetes,” Health Affairs, January 2012. Researchers apparently used data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2003-06) to estimate that, between 2010 and 2020, the tax would “prevent 2.4 million diabetes person-years, 95,000 coronary heart events, 8,000 strokes, and 26,000 premature deaths, while avoiding $17 billion in medical costs.” In addition, the scheme would purportedly raise $13 billion in annual tax revenue. In particular, the study notes that the “low price of these beverages, along with their mass marketing, has undoubtedly fueled their widespread overconsumption by both adults and children,” who allegedly drink as much…
Tag Archives SSB
The Constitutional Council of France recently approved a tax on sweetened soft drinks to combat the healthcare-related costs of obesity. Effective January 1, 2012, the tax adds 1 euro cent per can and is expected to generate €120 million ($156 million) in state revenue to fund lower Social Security contributions by farm workers. “Obesity is rising as swiftly in France as it is in other EU countries and action must be taken before it gets any more serious,” a French health ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying. See France 24, December 28, 2011; Daily Mail, December 29, 2011.
A study recently presented at the American Heart Association’s (AHA’s) 2011 Scientific Sessions in Orlando, Florida, has suggested a link between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and incident cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in women regardless of weight gain. Christina Shay, et al., “Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Incident Cardiovascular Risks Factors: The MultiEthnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA),” AHA 2011 Scientific Sessions, November 2011. Researchers apparently used data from approximately 4,000 adult participants enrolled in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis between 2000 and 2007, identifying during follow-up several incident CV risk factors that included (i) weight gain; (ii) increase waist circumference; (iii) low HDL, LDL and triglycerides; (iv) impaired fasting glucose; and (v) type 2 diabetes. The results evidently indicated that, compared with consuming less than one SSB per day, intake of more than two servings per day “was significantly associated with greater risk for incident increased [waist circumference], hypertriglyceridemia and [impaired fasting glucose]…
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…
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…
Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, recently authored commentary for Time magazine’s online opinion section, advocating “a penny-per-ounce tax on any beverage with added sugar.” According to Brownell’s October 24, 2011, article, “Nearly 20 states or cities in the U.S. have considered or are considering the possibility of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs),” but their efforts have allegedly been thwarted by the beverage industry “in ways reminiscent of the tobacco industry when it came under attack in the 1950s.” Drawing parallels between the two products, Brownell dismisses claims that SSB taxes would be “discriminatory” and ineffective by pointing to successful government efforts to reduce smoking. He also calls out groups such as Americans Against Food Taxes for seeking to emulate grassroots movements and contribute to obesity-related research. In particular, Brownell criticizes the Foundation for a Healthy America for purportedly donating $10 million…
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has unveiled the latest installment of its “Pouring on the Pounds” campaign that describes “how drinking just one 20-ounce soda a day translates to eating 50 pounds of sugar a year.” According to an October 24, 2011, press release, the 30-second TV commercial aims to serve as “a stark reminder to New Yorkers about how sugary drinks can lead to obesity, which can cause diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and some cancers.” It will be supplemented by bilingual subway ads demonstrating how far a 160-pound person would need to walk at 3.5 miles per hour to burn off the calories from one sugary beverage. “The majority of New York City adults are now overweight or obese, as are 4 in 10 elementary school children and the health consequences are staggering,” said New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley. “Sugary drinks…
Two nutritionists have published commentary in the September 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that calls for the federal government to revisit a ban on using food stamps to purchase sugar-sweetened beverages. Authored by Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity Director Kelly Brownell and Harvard School of Public Health Professor David Ludwig, the article responds to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) rejection of a New York City proposed pilot program that would have prohibited soda purchases under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Additional details about USDA’s decision appear in Issue 407 of this Update. The article notes that opposition to the proposal came from industry groups like the American Beverage Association but also “prominent antihunger groups,” some of which felt the ban would stigmatize SNAP recipients “and make them less likely to want to participate in the program.” To meet this…
The American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association and Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have joined cities nationwide in a new initiative designed “to reduce diet-related disease” by targeting sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Dubbed “Life’s Sweeter with Fewer Sugary Drinks,” the campaign seeks to decrease “average consumption of sugary drinks to roughly 3 cans per person per week by 2020,” a goal reportedly backed by officials in Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Seattle, as well as 110 local and national health organizations. According to an August 31, 2011, CSPI press release, the campaign’s website urges “individuals and families to take the Life’s Sweeter challenge to drink fewer or no sugary drinks,” including “fruit-flavored beverages with little or no juice, sweetened iced teas, lemonades, energy drinks, and so-called sports drinks.” The groups have also called on employers, hospitals and government agencies “to adopt policies that would reduce soda consumption,”…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has rejected New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s (I) plan to prohibit residents from using food stamps to buy sugar-sweetened beverages and soda. In October 2010, Bloomberg and state officials had proposed a two-year experiment that would exclude the drinks from USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in an effort to reduce obesity. In an August 19, 2011, letter to a state official, SNAP’s associate administrator Jessica Shahin wrote that the waiver was denied because of concerns that the “scale and scope” of the plan were “too large and complex” to implement and evaluate. Asserting that it would be too difficult to assess the ban’s effectiveness, Shahin instead suggested that USDA collaborate with the city on “anti-obesity intervention targeting consumption and associated behaviors while encouraging healthy choices.” Expressing disappointment with the decision, Bloomberg said, “We think our innovative pilot would have done more to…
