The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) has launched a public awareness effort advocating consumption of beverages containing less sugar. The “Don’t Drink Yourself Fat” campaign is reportedly part of a $3.4 million federal grant for Kauai and Maui District Health Offices’ Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative. “Research points to the strong correlation between consumption of sugar-loaded beverages and obesity with its many associated health problems,” said DOH Kauai District Health Officer Dileep Bal. “We know from our experience with anti-tobacco efforts that targeted media campaigns work and are a key component not only in raising awareness, but in changing social norms.” See DOH Press Release, May 31, 2011.
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Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has released a new study claiming that “a penny per ounce” tax on sugar sweetened beverages “has the potential to reduce consumption and generate significant revenue.” Tatiana Andreyeva, et al., “Estimating the potential of taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages to reduce consumption and generate revenue,” Preventive Medicine, April 2011. To estimate revenues from an excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, the study’s authors evidently constructed “a model projecting beverage consumption and tax revenues based on best available data on regional beverage consumption, historic trends and recent estimates of the price elasticity on sugar-sweetened beverage demand.” Using this model, the authors described the public health impact of beverage taxes as “substantial,” estimating that a penny-per-ounce tax would reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption by 24 percent and lower “the daily per capita caloric intake from sugar-sweetened beverages from the current 190-200 cal to 145-150 cal, if there…
According to an April 29, 2011, New York Times article, a plan to regulate purchases under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) continues to gain steam in New York City, where officials recently asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to approve a two-year pilot project prohibiting the use of food stamps to buy sugar-sweetened beverages with more than 10 calories per serving. Proponents of the measure have apparently estimated that city residents each year spend “$75 million to $135 million in food stamp benefits” on sugar-sweetened beverages, which advocates say are “the single largest contributor to the obesity epidemic.” But industry groups and other opponents have warned that the pilot project will serve only to stigmatize some consumers while giving government leave to police other purchasing decisions. “Once you start going into grocery carts, deciding what people can or cannot buy, where do you stop?,” asked one American…
A proposed California bill (A.B. 669) that would have levied a state tax on sweetened beverages has reportedly died in a legislative committee. Sponsored by Assembly Member Bill Monning (D-Carmel), the proposed tax of 1 cent per fluid ounce on soft drinks, energy drinks, sweet teas, and other sugary beverages would have raised an estimated $1.7 billion for health-related programs for children. Monning has vowed to continue supporting the tax, asserting that “the long-term health of California’s children is at risk and we must work together to avoid a future influx of chronically ill adults into our already overstressed health care system.” See The (San Jose) Mercury News, April 26, 2011.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (D) has issued an order that will require all city departments to take steps to stop “the sale, advertising, and promotion of sugary beverages on City-owned property.” The mayor is apparently concerned about setting an example in a community with high obesity rates that he attributes in part to the consumption of sweetened beverages. Under the executive order, only certain types of beverages will be sold in city cafeterias and vending machines and at city concession stands, or served during meetings, city-run programs and events catered with city funds. After a six-month grace period, city buildings and departments must phase out the sale of “red” beverages, that is, “those loaded with sugar, such as non-diet sodas, pre-sweetened ice teas, refrigerated coffee drinks, energy drinks, juice drinks with added sugar and sports drinks.” The promotion of such beverages will be prohibited. “Green” beverages can continue to be…
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…
Massachusetts public health regulators have reportedly approved proposed rules that would prohibit public schools from selling sweetened soft drinks, salty and calorie-laden packaged snacks, and white bread sandwiches as a way to combat childhood obesity. Effective in the 2012-13 school year, the proposed regulations need the approval of the state’s Public Health Council, which is expected to consider the issue in spring 2011. According to a news source, the proposed regulations would apply to a la carte lines, snack shops and vending machines, but not main cafeteria lines. “You don’t want to be feeding kids a bunch of sugar or low-nutrient foods and expect them to be well-prepared to learn,” said Jill Carter, executive director of the Health and Wellness Department in Boston’s public schools. See The Boston Globe, February 10, 2011.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has announced a new advertising campaign designed “to educate New Yorkers about the potentially serious health effects of consuming sugary drinks.” With the tagline “Pouring on the Pounds,” the health department’s latest installment features subway advertisements and a new TV commercial, the latter of which has sparked debate over its allegedly graphic content, including a close-up of a diabetic’s decaying toes. According to a January 31, 2011, press release, the 30-second spot aims to illustrate “how a daily routine of just a few sweetened drinks can cumulate to a whopping 93 packets of sugar by the end of the day.” “Too many sugar-sweetened drinks are fueling the obesity epidemic. Obesity and the serious health consequences that result are making hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers sick or disabled,” said New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley. “This new campaign shows…
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has published a January 3, 2011, letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg that calls for health warnings on sugar-sweetened beverages. Signed by the American Public Health Association, California Center for Public Health Advocacy, Trust for America’s Health, and other groups, the letter asks FDA to require the use of warning labels on “all beverages with more than 1.1 grams of sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or other added caloric sweeteners per ounce.” Building on a 2005 CSPI petition, the signatories specifically cite “overwhelming evidence linking consumption of soft drinks to serious diseases.” They recommend that the agency use its “ample legal authority” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require warning labels such as (i) “The U.S. Government recommends that you drink fewer sugary drinks to prevent weight gain, tooth decay, heart disease and diabetes”; (ii)…
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…
