soft drinks as the number one source of extra sugar calories

Health experts in America have been calling for taxes to be introduced on sugar laden soft drinks as a way to curb the increasing problem of overweight and obese individuals in the country. In the same way that unhealthy cigarettes are taxed they say that soft drinks also pose a significant health risk and taxes should be introduced on them to pay for the increased burden of health expenses that they bring with them.

The respected New England Journal of Medicine which published the opinions of a group of eminent nutritionists and medical experts said soft drinks should be taxed by way of one percent for each ounce for all drinks that have added sugars. The experts included Dr. Walter Willett from the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Thomas Farley, New York's City Health Commissioner and Professor Kelly Brownell from Yale University.

They said that in fact 33 American states already have taxes on soft drinks but very small ones which they said are not significant enough to affect consumption. They said that their proposals would increase the amount that a 20 ounce soft drink cost by around twenty percent which they said could lead to a ten percent drop in consumption. At Ukmedix News we believe that these taxes as well as working to limit consumption from a financial perspective will also help to highlight the awareness of how fattening these drinks are.

The experts also pointed out that an individual who decides not to consume a single sugar laden soft drink every day could reduce their calorie intake by as much as ten percent.

The American Heart Association has also given its opinion saying that Americans needed to drastically cut back on the amount of sugar in their diet and specifically pointed out soft drinks as the number one source of extra sugar calories.

Needless to say the American Beverage Association has objected to these taxes and said that “comprehensive solutions” were what was required but did not specify exactly what the solutions were.