Analyzing data from more than 2,500 participants enrolled in a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute study, Tufts University researchers have reportedly concluded that “a daily sugar-sweetened beverage [SSB] habit may increase the risk for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).” Jiantao Ma, et al., “Sugar-sweetened beverage, diet soda and fatty liver disease in the Framingham Heart Study cohorts,” Journal of Hepatology, June 2015. The study relied on self-reported dietary questionnaires to assess consumption of SSBs—including soda and other sweetened carbonated beverages, fruit punches, lemonade and non-carbonated fruit drinks—then used computer tomography (CT) scans “to measure the amount of fat in the liver.” Although the study found no association between diet soda intake and NAFLD, it evidently reported “a higher prevalence of NAFLD among people who reported drinking more than one [SSB] per day compared to people who said they drank no [SSBs].” “Our study adds to a growing body of research…
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Public health advocates from around the United States will convene in San Diego, California, on June 29-July 2, 2015, for the 8th Biennial Childhood Obesity Conference. The “Marketing to Kids” track of the two-day event will include a mini-plenary session titled “Taxing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages for Public Health: What Have We Learned from the Mexico, Berkeley and San Francisco Initiatives”; “Effective Marketing to Build Public Support to Curb Unhealthy Food Marketing to Children”; and “Would You Eat 91 Cubes of Sugar: A Look at Several Strategies for Decreasing Consumption of Sugary Drinks.” Other sessions will include “Toward Healthier Diets: Where Non-Governmental Organizations and Industry Clash and Cooperate” and “Warning Labels on Sugary Drinks: Promoting Informed Choices.” Supporters of the event include the California Department of Public Health, California Endowment and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Issue 568
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has unanimously passed three proposals aimed at reducing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in the San Francisco Bay Area. The first, legislation introduced by Supervisor Scott Wiener, would mandate warnings on most billboards and advertisements for SSBs with 25 or more calories. Text of the warning would read: “Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. This is a message from the City and County of San Francisco.” “We know health warnings work,” Wiener was quoted as saying. “They worked with cigarettes and they’ll work here.” The other two proposals would (i) prohibit advertisements for SSBs on city-owned property and (ii) prevent city departments and contractors from using city funds to purchase SSBs. All three pieces of legislation must pass another vote by the board and be approved by the mayor before they are enacted. See The Wall Street Journal…
During a May 31, 2015, interview with BBC One’s “The Andrew Marr Show,” National Health Service (NHS) England Chief Executive Simon Stevens called on industry stakeholders to reduce the amount of sugar in food and beverage products. In particular, he claimed that “one in three of our teenagers are drinking high-energy, sugary drinks,” urging “responsible retailers [and] food producers” to reformulate their products as they once did to reduce salt content. “We’ve done very well in terms of cutting smoking and teenage pregnancy and drink driving,” Stevens was quoted as saying. “But the new smoking is obesity. One in five cancer deaths is now caused by obesity.” See Press Association, May 31, 2015. Issue 567
A proposed bill (A.B. 1357) that would have imposed a 2-cent per ounce tax on soft drinks, sweet teas, energy and sports drinks has failed to pass the California Assembly Health Committee by a vote of 10-6. “I am disappointed that the committee failed to act today on one of the biggest health crises facing our nation,” said Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica), author of the legislation. “Diabetes is now the seventh largest cause of death in the nation. If current trends aren’t reversed, one-in-three children born after 2000—and specifically one-in-two African-American or Hispanic children—are expected to develop type 2 diabetes. The overwhelming view of health experts is that the single most significant cause of obesity and diabetes is overconsumption of sugar.” Revenue generated by the tax would have generated an estimated $3 billion for health, education and wellness programs aimed at reducing the incidence of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and…
University of Cambridge researchers report that replacing one soft drink per day with water or unsweetened coffee/tea reduced the incidence of diabetes by 14 to 25 percent in a prospective cohort of 25,639 adults enrolled in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Laura O’Connor, et al., “Prospective associations and population impact of sweet beverage intake and type 2 diabetes, and effects of substitutions with alternative beverages,” Diabetologia, May 2015. Funded by Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK, the study relied on food diaries completed over 11 years of follow-up, during which time 874 participants developed type 2 diabetes. The findings evidently show a 22-percent increase in diabetes risk per additional daily serving of soft drink, sweetened milk beverage or artificially sweetened beverage (ASB)—although the association with ASB consumption disappeared when researchers accounted for body mass index and waist girth as markers of obesity. As the authors observed in a May…
Proposed legislation (S.B. 203) that would have required all sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) containing more than 75 calories per 12-ounce serving to carry safety warnings has failed to garner the requisite five votes needed to clear the California Senate Health Committee and move forward in the legislative process. Introduced by Sen. Bill Monning (D-Carmel), the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Safety Warning Act directed manufacturers, distributors and retailers to place the following notice on sealed containers, multipacks and vending machines, as well as any premises where SSBs are sold in unsealed containers: “STATE OF CALIFORNIA SAFETY WARNING: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay.” A similar proposal (S.B. 1000) failed to receive adequate support from state lawmakers in 2014. The legislation was co-sponsored by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, which issued a statement on its website declaring that “It is unfortunate that of all places, the health committee…
A study examining the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and liver health among premenopausal women has reportedly found that habitual, moderate intake “may elicit hepatic lipogenesis.” Maya Shimony, et al., “The relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and liver enzymes among healthy premenopausal women: a prospective cohort study,” European Journal of Nutrition, March 2015. Relying on data from a prospective cohort of 259 healthy women, researchers with the National Institutes of Health and George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health measured serum levels of alanine and aspartate aminotransferases (ALT and AST), biomarkers used to assess overall liver health. The study claims that for every additional cup of SSB consumed and every 10-gram increase in added sugar and total fructose per day, “log ALT increased by 0.079 U/L (95 % CI 0.022, 0.137), 0.012 U/L (95 % CI 0.002, 0.022), and 0.031 (0.012, 0.050), respectively, and log AST increased by…
The 14-member committee charged with developing the federal government’s "2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans” has issued its report containing recommendations for promoting consumption of foods and beverages that assist in maintaining a healthy weight and preventing disease. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) are soliciting written comments about the committee’s report as well as offering the opportunity to provide oral comments at a March 24, 2015, public meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. Recommendations include following a diet low in saturated fat, added sugars and sodium, i.e., “less than 2,300 mg dietary sodium per day (or age-appropriate Dietary Reference Intake amount), less than 10 percent of total calories from saturated fat per day, and a maximum of 10 percent of total calories from added sugars per day.” The committee discourages consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Issue 556
Researchers with the Yale School of Public Health have published a study claiming that “middle-school children who consume heavily sweetened energy drinks are 66% more likely to be at risk for hyperactivity and inattention symptoms.” Deborah Schwartz, et al., “Energy Drinks and Youth Self-Reported Hyperactivity/Inattention Symptoms,” Academic Pediatrics, February 2015. The study relied on data from more than 1,500 middle-school students who completed the hyperactivity/inattention subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and self-reported their sugar-sweetened beverage consumption during the preceding 24 hours. In addition to concluding that the risk of hyperactivity/inattention increased with energy drink consumption, the study’s authors apparently found that the risk of hyperactivity/inattention “increased by 14% for each additional sweetened beverage consumed.” As one researcher elaborated in a February 9 press release, “Our results support the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that parents should limit consumption of sweetened beverages and that children should not consume any…
