You are out for a quiet lunch with your family, the waitress walks over and your 6 year old child asks for a lemonade with their lunch. Sure, you think one glass of soft drink won’t hurt right? Wrong. That one, seemingly innocent glass of lemonade contains a whopping 6 teaspoons of sugar. I doubt that you would let your child eat 6 teaspoons of sugar from a bowl, so why would you allow them to consume it in the form of a sugary soft drink? Sugar is highly addictive, can cause cancer and is causing childhood obesity. The proliferation of sugar in society is causing widespread problems like obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancers, tooth decay and acid wear. Additionally, Rethink Sugary Drink claims that one can of soft drink a day can lead to an annual …show more content…
If you are not convinced, a very prominent side effect of this shift is seen in the Australian child obesity statistics. According to the ABS, in 2008, a staggering 25% of Australian children were suffering from obesity and the amount of obese boys aged 5-17 has doubled since 1995. That is a quarter of children gasping for air as they merely walk. A major cause of these terrifying statistics is due to sugar alone. A report from the Australian newspaper said “Children consume three times more sugar than is recommended. Soft drinks are the biggest source, accounting for 29% of the sugar intake of 11 to 18 year olds and 16% for younger children.” Soft drink consumption in Australia has shot up from an average of 65 litres per year in the early 1970s to about 100 litres today. We as a nation can no longer hide away from this epidemic, if we continue with our current habits then our children’s futures are already written for them. Their lives will become ones of suffering and short life expectancies. We need to stop this now before obesity kills our …show more content…
Unfortunately, the widespread availability of sugar makes it difficult for parents and children to make healthy, convenient food and drink choices. This is especially important for kids who are still developing their nutritional foundation, metabolism, and hormones, even a little sugar can be harmful. Would you give your children a bottle of poison and allow them to consume it? Of course not, what parent would. But unknowingly that’s exactly what you are doing when you provide your children with any type of sugary drink whether it be fruit juice or a fizzy drink. A 600ml bottle of soft drink can contain up to 16 teaspoons of sugar. The permeation of sugar through today’s society makes it plainly clear to see that placing a tax on sugary drinks is not enough to combat child obesity. This solution is not enough to overcome this issue in the long term. It needs to be coupled with a strong educational campaign which targets, not only children in schools, but adults in the community through both television, radio and
The article,“ Battle lines drawn over soda tax,” by Associated Press , the Press explains how there is an ongoing “national fight about taxing sugary drinks.” According to Associated Press, “ Health experts say the beverages contribute to health issues such as diabetes, obesity, and tooth decay.” This quote demonstrates that sugary drinks can lead to health issues. Since sugary drinks leads to health issues, people are considering soda tax. This is because thirteen percent of adult minorities are diagnosed with diseases such as diabetes.
Jon Gabriel explains how sugar has become an addictive drug like nicotine, the only difference is that its legal. Once we become hooked on it we become habituated to its effects and need more and more to satisfy ourselves. As a result of the increase in marketing and the on going dependence on sugary foods and beverages, children are taking in more and more sugar and obtaining less and less nutrients. According to Gentry Lasater,
However, the outcome was different from his desired result due to strong protest from the dairy and livestock industry, so the Congress instead urged people to buy lean meat and less fat food so the dairy and livestock industry do not go out of business. This created the fat-free boom in the market in the 1980s. However, food companies began to put more sugar in their products because the taste was bad when they reduced fat in the food. Now, the sugar intake of Americans has doubled compared with before. In the American market, there are approximately 600,000 different food products, and 80% of those include sugar. Although sugar is written in various forms and names, one suggests that it’s bad in any form, especially if taken too much. Sugar consumed naturally through fiber-rich fruit or vegetable should be fine, but the added sweeteners stimulate the hormones that increase insulin. High insulin prevents people from thinking they are full, and thus crave more food. This causes many diseases. Of course one meal high in sugar will not kill them, but the problem is that people generally exceed daily sugar intake in one meal alone when consuming process food. We eat more processed and convenient food instead of fruits, vegetables, and
"Why single out sugar-sweetened beverages when cookies, candy, and other products with lots of added sugar and fats are equally unhealthy, consumed in large quantities
Research shows that the average adult consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar a day the average teen consumes 34 teaspoons of sugar. America is a country that loves sugar from soda to cereal everything has sugar. “Robert Lustig, an endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, argued in the journal Nature that sugar is addictive and toxic—that it can poison the liver, cause metabolic syndrome (increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes), suppress the brain’s dopamine system, and cause us to crave more. Lustig concluded, controversially, that sugar should be regulated like a drug. Alcohol is regulated because of its ubiquity, toxicity, abuse, and negative impact on society, he wrote, and ‘sugar meets the same criteria.’”
According to The World Health Organization, “Obesity is the imbalance between declining energy expenditure due to physical inactivity and high energy in the diet (excess calories whether from sugar, starches or fat) …. Increasing physical activity, in addition to reducing intakes of food high in fat and foods and drinks high in sugars, can prevent unhealthy weight gain” (Who). The World Health Organization has recognized that soda and other sugary drinks a...
Americans eat entirely too much. And the foods we are consuming are not at all healthy, they contain excessive amounts of salt, sugar, saturated fat, carbohydrates, etc. This over eating is not only a severe problem in the adult population but also in America’s children as well. Results from a study performed by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that 1 to 2 year olds get 30 percent more of the 950 calories they require a day. It has also been found that another contributing factor to most children’s bad eating habits is the fact that they either rarely or never consume vegetables and fruit. Besides the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables children are consuming large amounts of sugar. Wether it be in candy or desserts, soda or sugary fruit juices children are beginning to consume these at very early ages. Results from another study performed by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that infants are drinking soda out of baby bottles as early as 7 months of age. In response to these disturbing facts Parents magazine published the preceding article. It outlines 10 steps that can be taken to
First of all, an increasing amount of kids are becoming overweight because their schools pressure them to eat sugary, fatty, and high-calorie foods. Not only do many schools promote consumption of harmful foods, many schools also actively serve them in school lunches. In 1963, 4% of kids were obese; currently, approximately 17% of kids are obese. Some might argue that kids themselves are the reason for the increase, because school lunches also provide healthier foods. Unfortunately, most kids do not have much of a choice - healthier foods are priced much higher than their unhealthy counterpart, consequently many parents do not want their kids to buy the more expensive, yet healthier product. In my 3½ years ...
The average American eats 156 pounds of added sugar each year. Sugar is delicious and once we have it, our body constantly wants more. Added sugar has become an American epidemic. “Eighty percent, or 480,000 of the 600,000 food products sold within the U.S. have added sugar, which, according to researchers and medical doctors, is why we have the world 's highest obesity rate is at 31 percent,” (Fed Up). The addictive quality of added sugar makes our brains want more of it constantly; however, our bodies are being negatively affected by its consumption in many ways.
Everyday Americans die from the diseases they carry from obesity. Many Americans overeat because of their social problems or because they are hereditary. Many plans have been discussed, but finding the solution is the problem. Junk foods and unhealthy beverages have corrupted children’s minds all over the nation, and putting a stop to it could lead to other benefits. Unhealthy foods and drinks should be taxed and healthy foods should be advertised to help prevent American obesity.
The health of the nation’s youth has been under scrutiny lately due to recent reports that are showing an increase in average body mass index (BMI), poor physical fitness, and elevations in blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids (Eagle, Gurm, Goldberg, DuRussel-Weston, Kline-Rogers, Palma-Davis, Aaronson, Fitzgerald, Mitchell, Rogers, Breunger, Jackson, and Eagle 2010). Eagle et al. (2010) Attribute the decrease in health to “fast food, lack of physical activity due to increased TV and computer screen time, and there is also an expanding appreciation for an inherited basis for childhood obesity” (P.1185). Sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) account for on average 159 calories daily and an average of 9 tablespoons of added sugar daily (Briefel, Wilson, Cabili, & Hedley Dodd, 2013). ...
Surveys have shown that sugar-sweetened beverages are the primary source of added sugar in our diets. According to a Coca-Cola history website, the soft-drinks’ bottle sizes have been enlarged drastically over the past 40 years, basically meaning that we are drinking more soft drinks than ever. As an example, half of the population in the US consume sugary drinks every day, in which about 25 percent gain at least 200 calories from these drinks. Sugary drinks are also the top calorie source in teen’s diets, increasing the risk of diseases such as obesity, diabetes and heart problems from an early stage. It is a significant factor that leads to obesity, so I believe resisting these sugary drinks and promoting healthier products could definitely assist the goal of elevating the number of a healthy
However, some studies have shown that sugar doesn’t make all kids hyper? So then what sugar makes all kids hyper. First,we will focus on the health effects of sugar. Secondly, different causes of sugar in children. Lastly, we will find out the effects of sugar in the children. I think sugar doesn’t make all kids hyper.Let's find out.
Have you ever thought how much soda you consume and how bad it can be for you? Many people will drink soda instead of water, simply because it tastes better. The government should limit the intake of sugary beverages because it can lead to many different problems such as heart disease, obesity, and overall it is an unhealthy life-style. “The average person consumes almost 100lbs of sugar a year, with the single biggest source being soda.” A sugary beverage occasionally would be ok, but drinking it every day would cause problems for you overtime. People drink, more soda than they do water. People should be consuming at least eight 8-ounce glasses a day. Mostly no one will drink that amount of water a day. In today’s society, it can be easy to grab a soda for one dollar and carry on. They may taste better but they are not better for your health. “Sugary drinks include soda, fruit punch, lemonade, and other “aides” sweetened powdered drinks, and sports energy drinks.”
...k out of their home (Center n.d.). Modernization and development has left our working class people scrapping by to provide food for their families. To “solve” this, and increase their profits, corporations are now controlling the people’s nutritional needs. Since the development of the first sugar plantation businesses have been pumping sugar into our veins. We graciously accept this form of cheap nutrition because industrialization has left us inadequately prepared for survival in the fast paced consumer world. Simon Capewell, a professor of clinical epidemiology at the University of Liverpool sums up the issue with sugar in modern time by saying, “Sugar is the new tobacco. Everywhere, sugary drinks and junk foods are now pressed on unsuspecting parents and children by a cynical industry focused on profit not health.” (NHS Choices: Your Health, Your Choices 2014).