How Sugar Sweetened Beverages Effect Our Health

     Time after time we see science and health care changing. This change is inevitable and that is why it is necessary we recognize the change and work with the change. A simple public health crisis 20 years ago was tobacco and cigarette use. Although there is still some challenge ending tobacco use, there are new problems our society is facing such as childhood obesity. A small group of students that I have been working with have been doing some research on sugar sweetened beverages and how they affect the obesity of our population. 

     Beverages such as soda are becoming a health risk today and no one would have expected this, just as no one had known or expected cigarettes to cause as much harm as they do. Numerous studies have shown the correlation between sugar sweetened beverages and childhood obesity. Recently Mexico has implemented a tax on sugar sweetened beverage and there has already proven to be a drop in the number of purchases of these sweetened drinks. There are hopes that people will soon see a drop in childhood obesity and obesity rates all around. The idea of implementing this tax on sugar sweetened beverage is fairly new to the United States. Philadelphia has talked about implementing this tax and requiring that all funds collecting from this tax go directly to healthcare programs or schooling programs for children. 

     With concrete data from Mexico, perhaps the U.S. will be more likely to follow through. I do not believe this taxation will take place anytime soon in the U.S. because many people are likely to fight it. However, I believe if a small amount of tax is put on these sugar sweetened beverages in the United States it will beneficial for many. Some people will not continue to buy soda, and hopefully sugar sweetened beverage sales will drop and so will obesity rates. Those who do not mind paying the tax will continue to buy sugar sweetened beverages and the tax will help fund education and health promotion as well as contribute to primary prevention of obesity and diabetes. It is important for many of us to see numbers and exactly where the money from the tax is going so that we support it. For me personally, I would not mind paying a few extra cents on things if I knew it were going to benefit and improve the health of our community. "According to the city of Philadelphia, a three cent per ounce excise tax could raise approximately $400 million over the next 5 years" (Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax, Philadelphia). Even this one example can show just how much money can be raised if this plan is executed. 400 million dollars is an incredibly large amount of money to be made and used in health care from something that is currently making $0 on tax. In addition to the fact that the intention of this is to improve the health of our people. Making the change with health and medicine is often difficult but essential. 

References: 

-Afzal, Stephen C. Resch and Angie L. Cradock J. Ward, Jessica L. Barrett, Erica L. Kenney, Kendrin R. Sonneville, Amna Sadaf  Steven L. Gortmaker, Y. Claire Wang, Michael W. Long, Catherine M. Giles, Zachary. 2015. "Than They Cost To Implement Three Interventions That Reduce Childhood Obesity Are Projected To Save More"."Than They Cost To Implement Three Interventions That Reduce Childhood Obesity Are Projected To Save More". Retrieved 11 November 2017. http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/34/11/1932.full.html

-Choices Project. Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax, Philadelphia. 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
PA BRIEF_Cost-Effectiveness-of-a-Sugar-Sweetened-Beverage-Tax-in-Philadelphia-PA_CHOICESproject.org_5.20.16.pdf.