Let's Tax the Sugary Diet

at 1:51 PM

Discussed in the New York Times (April 6,2010)

In the past 50 years our sugar consumption has increased by more than 24 pounds a year. Soft drinks contribute 7 percent of the calories Americans consume which makes them the leading source of added sugar and calories in our diet. When it comes to added calories it's not just high fructose corn syrup to be blamed; all of the following are culprits: table sugar, brown sugar, honey, agave syrup and fruit juice concentrate. All of these when added to food, add little but empty calories which in excess, the body stores as fat.

New York State, among others is considering an excise tax of about one penny per ounce on high-calorie sweetened beverages.

The entire country should tax these high calorie beverages. No nutritionist has these drinks on their list of desirable ingredients.

A Harvard study that followed 88,000 women for 24 years found that regardless of weight, the risk of developing heart disease increased by 20 percent among those who had at least two sugary drinks a day. Here is something else to think about: studies have shown that people do not compensate for the extra calories that come from their consumed liquids, by eating less food!

A study done at Yale, has shown that for every 10 percent increase in price, consumption of soda dropped by 7.8 percent.

In state of New York most people are for this tax. A tax that could raise revenue, cut consumption of sugar and maybe decrease the current acceleration of obesity; who would be against that?