Two of the country’s top medical groups are calling for soda taxes and a rollback of sugary drink ads in the hopes of discouraging children from consuming them.
In a joint statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association endorsed a series of recommendations they say will help curb rates of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as the growing obesity epidemic.
‘We have tried, and failed, to curb sugary drink intake through education and individual choices alone,’ said Dr Natalie Muth, a pediatrician in San Diego, California, and lead author of the statement.
‘Just like policy changes were necessary and effective in reducing consumption of tobacco and alcohol, we need policy changes that will help reduce sugary drink consumption in children and adolescents.’
A joint statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association calls for soda taxes and regulations on advertising to reduce the amount of sugary drinks kids are consuming (file image)
The rate of childhood obesity has tripled since the 1970s, affecting one in five children in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Childhood obesity is now the number one health concern among parents in the US, topping drug abuse and smoking.
Obesity continues to plague more than one-third of American adults, and experts have warned that this proportion will only grow as younger generations do.
Experts say several factors have contributed, including low amounts of physical activity, a rise in junk food consumption and sugary drinks.
Eating too much sugar has been linked to several health problems include asthma, cavities, raising levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol and increasing the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.
Dr Muth says that children consume an average of 30 gallons of sugary drinks each year, the equivalent of about half a bathtub full of sugar.
Although soda consumption has declined in the US, kids and teens still get about 143 calories per day from sugar-laden drinks.
Meanwhile, the AHA has recommended that children consume no more than six teaspoons of sugar, or 100 calories, per day.
‘For children, the biggest source of added sugars often is not what they eat, it’s what they drink,’ Dr Muth said.
‘As a pediatrician, I am concerned that these sweetened drinks pose real – and preventable – risks to our children’s health, including tooth decay, diabetes, obesity and heart disease.’
That’s why, among many recommendations, the AAP and the AHA have called for lawmakers to raise the price of sugary drinks on the local, state and federal level via taxes.
In March 2015, Berkeley, California, became the first city in the country to impose a one percent tax on sugar-sweetened drinks.
One year after the introduction of the tax, sales of sugary drinks fell by 9.6 percent while their sales in surrounding areas rose 6.9 percent, a study in 2017 found.
Sales of water increased by 15.6 percent post-tax and sales for other non-taxed drinks such as unsweetened teas, milk and fruit juices also rose.
Several US cities have since followed suit including San Francisco, Oakland, and Albany in California; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Boulder, Colorado; Cook County, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington.
Taxes are ‘a great example of a way to increase the price of sugary drinks, which we know decreases consumption,’ Dr Muth said.
The soda industry has spent billions of dollars campaigning against taxes and trying to influence research to be more favorable towards fizzy drinks.
‘We are supporting parents who want less sugar in their kids’ diets by creating more drinks than ever before with less or no sugar,’ William Dermody, spokesperson for the American Beverage Association, said in a statement.
‘Today, 50 percent of all beverages sold contain zero sugar as we drive toward a goal of reducing beverage calories consumed by 20 percent by 2025.’
The AAP and the AHA recommendations also include requiring added sugar content to be displayed on nutrition labels and restaurant menus, and making milk and water the default drink options on children’s menus.
The groups are also calling for federal regulations that would reduce the amount of junk food advertising on TV, online and on billboards.
Several studies have shown that black and Hispanic kids view a disproportionate share of ads for sodas compared to their white peers.
Meanwhile, 26 percent of Hispanic youth and 22 percent of black youth are obese compared to 14 percent of white youth.
Some health experts have called for all-out bans similar to the way cigarette ads were banned from radio and television in 1971 while others have proposed legislation to end the federal tax deduction of marketing soda to children.
The joint statement comes on the heels of a study released last week from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health that found drinking soda and sports drinks was tied to a 30 percent higher risk of early death among US adults.
‘Drinking water in place of sugary drinks is a healthy choice that could contribute to longevity,’ said lead author Dr Vasanti Malik, a research scientist in the department of nutrition at Harvard.
‘Diet soda may be used to help frequent consumers of sugary drinks cut back their consumption, but water is the best and healthiest choice.’