Health News
- Study: Banning Sugary Drinks From Snap Would Reduce Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes; Subsidy Would Boost Fruit Consumption
A measure preventing people from purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, would significantly reduce obesity and Type 2 diabetes in adults under 65, and adding a subsidy for fruits and...
- Mayors And Ama Say Food Stamps Shouldn't Pay For Soft Drinks
Louisville's Greg Fischer is among 18 mayors asking Congress to ban sugary drinks from purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps. One day after their June 18 letter, the American Medical Association...
- Teens Who Drink Sugary Beverages Add 300 Calories A Day To Their Diet, National Survey Finds
American teens who drink pop, energy drinks like Red Bull and other sugar-based beverages like Gatorade are consuming an average of 327 calories a day, the equivalent of two and a half cans of cola, according to an analysis conducted by the National Center...
- Downsize Those Sugary Drinks!
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom It?s official ? Americans are drinking way too many sugary drinks. New results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) have documented some scary findings when it comes to consumption of sugary drinks....
- Choosing Healthy Drink Options
by Jason Bosley-Smith, CSCS, Live Well @ LifeBridge Did you know that a 20-ounce soda has about 17 teaspoons of sugar and over 200 calories? While many of us focus on food when we think of controlling calories, how often do we stop and think about our...
Health News
Penny-per-ounce tax on sugar drinks could save $17 billion, cut consumption and prevent disease and death, academics say
More than $17 billion in medical costs over 10 years could be saved if sugared drinks were taxed at 1 cent per ounce, and it would prevent 95,000 cases of coronary heart disease, 8,000 strokes and 26,000 premature deaths, say researchers at Columbia University and the University of California.
The tax would mean an extra 12 cents per can or 20 cents per bottle, and would generate about $13 billion in annual tax revenue. The study, published in this month's HealthAffairs, found the consumption of sugary drinks, including soda, sports drinks like Gatorade and energy drinks like Red Bull, would be cut by 15 percent among adults ages 25 to 64.
"Even our conservative estimates show that a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages could substantially reduce the negative health and financial impacts of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Y. Claire Wang, assistant professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia and lead author of the study. "Putting the money raised by the tax into efforts to prevent obesity and other health problems could potentially increase the impact of such a policy."
In 2009, Americans consumed 13.8 billion gallons of sugar-sweetened beverages, which translates to about 45 gallons per person. The average 20-ounce bottle of a sugar drink contains almost 17 teaspoons of sugar. (Read more)
- Study: Banning Sugary Drinks From Snap Would Reduce Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes; Subsidy Would Boost Fruit Consumption
A measure preventing people from purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, would significantly reduce obesity and Type 2 diabetes in adults under 65, and adding a subsidy for fruits and...
- Mayors And Ama Say Food Stamps Shouldn't Pay For Soft Drinks
Louisville's Greg Fischer is among 18 mayors asking Congress to ban sugary drinks from purchase under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called food stamps. One day after their June 18 letter, the American Medical Association...
- Teens Who Drink Sugary Beverages Add 300 Calories A Day To Their Diet, National Survey Finds
American teens who drink pop, energy drinks like Red Bull and other sugar-based beverages like Gatorade are consuming an average of 327 calories a day, the equivalent of two and a half cans of cola, according to an analysis conducted by the National Center...
- Downsize Those Sugary Drinks!
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom It?s official ? Americans are drinking way too many sugary drinks. New results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) have documented some scary findings when it comes to consumption of sugary drinks....
- Choosing Healthy Drink Options
by Jason Bosley-Smith, CSCS, Live Well @ LifeBridge Did you know that a 20-ounce soda has about 17 teaspoons of sugar and over 200 calories? While many of us focus on food when we think of controlling calories, how often do we stop and think about our...