Drunk on sugar water
I was on vacation last week, but while I was gone, colleague Eddie Jimenez wrote a story about soda consumption in the San Joaquin Valley that captured my attention.
I had no idea we were the "soda consumption capital of California," as Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, described us.
The statistics from researchers at the advocacy center and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research made me gulp: 41% of children ages 2 to 11 statewide drink one or more sugary sodas each day. By contrast, 57% of children in Kings County and 53% in Fresno County drink sodas. The state's leader was Imperial County, where 61% of kids drink sodas.
How many teaspoons of sugar a day, a month or a year are kids drinking in soda? You do the math -- a 20-ounce bottle contains 17 teaspoons of sugar.
The story gave several possible reasons why we guzzle so much soda? I thought it was because of the hot summers here---but it's obviously it's a year-round beverage binge that we're on.
So, how do we wean ourselves off sodas and sweetened drinks?
Would an excise tax on sodas, as has been proposed, affect consumption? I don't know. But cigarette taxes seem to have had an effect on smokers.
Would a public education "put the cap on soda" campaign similar to the "buckle up" seat belt campaign make a difference?
What do you think?
Comments:
Do elementary schools in the Fresno and surrounding areas sell soda on campus? If so, I certainly think it would be appropriate to remove all except maybe in the teachers lounge. Elementary students do not need soda that accessible. If there are not soda machines--that means it is the parents and there's really not much you can do about that other than maybe send out a letter to parents encouraging them to not give their child(ren) soda in their lunch and after school, etc. Habits start at an early age--so it would be most effective to focus on the elementary school age.
Posted by: Lindsey at September 24, 2009 3:41 PM
What do I think? I think that people who impose themselves into the lives of others "for their own good" are dangerous. If you don't like soda's don't drink them. Frankly, my liberty is more important than your silly ideas or inability to understand freedom.
Posted by: Mike Reith at September 24, 2009 11:07 PM
You said it for me Mike, thanks. Pulling the machines out of schools may help a little, but kids will just bring them from home.
I drink a ton of soda. My 4 year old daughter has maybe had 2 sips of soda in her life. Personal choice and parenting - gov't should stay out of it.
Posted by: John English at September 25, 2009 2:21 PM
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