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Obesity in industrialized countries
The negative effect of sugar drinks
Obesity by world health organization
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Recommended: Obesity in industrialized countries
To begin with, one of the main causes of why the ban on sugary drinks in schools is an important issue is because the number of overweight children in the United States has grown at an accelerated rate with 1 in 3 children considered overweight or obese. To explain, obesity is being considered as an epidemic that affects mostly children for instance each day a battle is led in order that people understand the importance of reducing the amount of sugary drinks that are being consumed. The American Heart Association mentions that: “America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Currently, 69% of U.S. adults are overweight while more than one third (35%) are obese. Children are not untouched by this frightening reality as 32% are overweight, …show more content…
Frequently, at home, parents could control what our children are consuming, but in schools the administrators and staff should be more focused on education and one way to help them is that this type of drinks is not available to students, and some countries have already supported the decision. To point out, some Latin American countries like Panama and some states of the United States like California and Philadelphia have established strong positions to control sugary drinks in schools. For example, in 2016, Panama decreed a regulation that prohibits without exception the consumption of sugary drinks within schools. With this decision, the government expects that the levels in childhood diseases caused by the uncontrolled consumption of sugar will be improved. California in turn has been working on a law that allows them to place warning labels on sugary drinks. The goal is to get consumers to drink fewer drinks of this type and become aware of what is involved in excessive consumption of sugar. Philadelphia is no exception, because the city has approved a plan, which will set a higher tax per ounce on sugary drinks. According to my research, consumers will have to pay an additional $ 2.16 for a pack of twelve sodas. This decision is one of the most recent among dozens of attempts across the United States to limit a tax on the consumption of sugar-filled beverages. The goal is that with what has been raised, they can use the funds to renovate parks, recreation centers and libraries, as well as expand pre-kindergarten
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.
Mayor Bloomberg’s plan is to decrease the amount of sugar intake that Americans digest. However, to do this successfully, he would need to include all sugary products that affect Americans, not just the most popular products, which happens to be soda. When you take away soda, people will start to replace the drink with something more available. The replacement drink could easily be something more caloric or sugary than the banned drink. Therefore, no change is made. Pure juices have the potential to be unhealthier than soda. These factors need to be considered when deciding what or what not to ban. It would be unfair to target soda and the companies that profit off of soda, without considering the other sugary products and their effect on the world. Some could argue that juice comes from fruit, while soda is artificial. Also, sugars in juice are more natural than the high fructose corn syrup. All the while, this is suppose to support the idea that juice is healthier than soda. However, according to the journal, Nutrition, fruit juice, on average, has a fructose concentration of about 45.5 grams per liter. 45.5 grams per liter is only a bit less than the average 50 grams per liter for
Unhealthy foods are what make the money for schools and that is why they serve them for students. (Schlafy) Schools feel like they need the extra money in the budget, even though it is at the student’s expense. Data shows that nearly 60% of all middle schools in the US serve soda from vending machines. (Schlafy) Soda is very high in sugar and is not at all good for children, but it is still sold in school vending machines. The ways food in schools is now are way too high in fats and sugars. This is not good for the children and very bad in the long run. Elementary schoolchildren have an estimated $15 billion of their own money that they can use to buy whatever they want in schools, and parents have almost another $160 billion to give students for food money. (Schlafy) Big businesses see this as a big source of profit and therefore encourage children to buy their products, and want them to be offered in school because of th4e likelihood of children buying the business’s product. All in all, obesity in the US is greatly influenced by the foods offered in schools
Pratt, Katherine. "A Constructive Critique Of Public Health Arguments For Antiobesity Soda Taxes And Food Taxes." Tulane Law Review 87.1 (2012): 73-140. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.
However, according to this point of view, we should tax sugary drinks. The supporters of this article say that increasing taxes will decrease the possibilities of getting cavities, tooth decay, obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and type two diabetes. Most of the supporters argue that increasing the price of soda by 20 cents would lead to a 16 percent drop in sales.
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 ...
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
Mark Bittman’s article, “Taxing Sugar to Fund a city,” emphasizes that on one hand, the taxation of sugar sweetened beverages would be a bonus. On the other hand it could continue to not be supported by the people and government. Taxation of sugar sweetened beverages is being considered in many different places throughout the world. The taxation was becoming a failure everywhere, until it worked for the first time in several cities. Cites such as Northern California, San Francisco, Albany and Richmond. These cities opened up their ideas to this new type of taxation, once those places became supportive many others begin to also be supportive of this new taxation. Philadelphia plans to use the taxes received for the needy, community schools, public parks, recreation centers and libraries. Some cities support using the money this way rather than using the tax for safe free drinking water like in Berkley and Mexico. Taxed products
A soda tax aims to stop consumers from buying soda to help those who are obese. This will not be effective. Therefore, a soda tax will not be good public policy. A soda tax is a tax that will add an extra cent per ounce to a bottle or can of a sugary drink, including juice, tea, coffee, energy drinks, and soda.
Consumption of soft drinks has an impact on childhood obesity. According to France Ellisle from France’s Institute of Health and Medical Research, there is a direct connection between weight gain and sugar. The average adolescent is consuming about fifteen to twenty teaspoons of sugar daily. (Scott, 2) Along with the sugar children are eating more and more fast food. The sit down dinner has come to an end. In most families both parents work fulltime leaving little time to prepare healthy meals. Parents look for food that is quick, cheap and satisfies the child. The problem with fast food is that has very little nutritious value and is often high in fat and salt content, with a good measure of preservative thrown in....
Looking around, candy, soda water and junk food are in the hands of fellow classmates. Simply walking down the street countless unhealthy food advertisement are seen and influence our choices as they are intended to do. In America, one in three children, about 22 million children, are obese or overweight, and that number is only rising. The government must aid in the fight against childhood obesity and reform the influence of unhealthy food in children’s lives, increase the availability of beneficial foods, mandate physical education, and inform our children of healthy habits.
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). ...
Have grocery stores remove the amount of sugar drink and candies that are on the aisles and provide drinks
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.”