CNN and WCVB News reported Monday that sugary drinks are linked to over 180,000 obesity-related deaths across the world every year, according to research presented this week at an American Heart Association conference. This means that one in one hundred deaths are purportedly caused by over-consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.
The U.S. ranked third on the worldwide study of death rates from sugar-filled drinks. Still, the fact that sugary beverages can ultimately lead to death should be read as a warning sign that our country needs to slow down on its consumption of soda, sugary juices, energy drinks, etc.
Granted, the government and its food administrations can never fully regulate our national consumption of sugary drinks (or can they? New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently attempted a soda ban), as that would infringe on our freedom and right to drink as much sugar as we please and suffer the health consequences accordingly. Government also cannot regulate the manufacturing of sugary beverages. According to The Boston Globe, Coke is the world’s biggest beverage manufacturer, one that provides hundreds of thousands of jobs and generates millions of dollars across the globe.
What it can potentially regulate, however, is the way in which sugary drinks are marketed to the public, and especially to younger generations. It can debate the safety of marketing soda to children. It can, if it wants, label soda the way it labels cigarettes now that soda has been cited as a cause of death. People should know to avoid soda both regular and diet. It’s likely that they already do, but unlikely that they know it helps lead to death. The government’s main effort should be to continue and further its obesity-education efforts, especially because public money is often put into funding the health care of those who do not make socially responsible choices about the beverages they repeatedly consume.
In January, The Huffington Post reported on Coca-Cola’s recent “Coming Together” advertisement, which highlighted how the company has worked with school systems to offer bottled water and juices to children, while also making an effort to create 180 low-calorie drink options and offer smaller-sized full-calorie sodas to help control portion size.
These company efforts are good, but they do not solve the problem. Neither does a simple ban on soda, as people should limit their sugar consumption in any form. Still, according to WCVB, scientists have found that more people died from diabetes, heart disease and cancer in parts of the world where consumption of sugary drinks is high. Ultimately the way to encourage a sugar limit is to use government money to continually educate people about sugar’s negative affects on health.
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America’s beverage companies agree that it is important for young people to have a healthy lifestyle. That’s why we voluntarily agreed not to advertise any products other than juice, water and milk-based drinks to any audience predominantly comprised of children under the age of 12. This policy covers a wide range of marketing outlets including television, radio, print, Internet, phone messaging and cinema, including product placement. A 2011 review showed that between 2004-2010, soft drink advertising to children decreased by 96 percent, while it increased 199 percent for fruit and vegetable juices.