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USDA Report Says Soda Tax Would Reduce Obesity |
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Wednesday, 14 July 2010 09:15 |
A recent report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) argues that adding a tax to caloric sweetened beverages - such as carbonated soft drinks - may help reduce high American obesity rates.
Titled Taxing Caloric Sweetened Beverages Potential Effects on Beverage Consumption, Calorie Intake, and Obesity, the report, by the agency's Economic Research Service, states that a 20 percent increase in the cost of sweetened beverages would reduce an adult's net calorie intake from all beverages by 37 calories per day, or 13 percent. The effects for children were estimated to be larger, an average reduction of 43 calories per day, or 11 percent. By assuming that 1 pound of body fat has about 3,500 calories, the daily calorie reductions would translate into an average reduction of 3.8 pounds over a year for adults and 4.5 pounds over a year for children, the report says.
The report, based on the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), defined caloric sweetened beverages as "sodas, fruit drinks, sports and energy drinks, and powdered mixes with added sugars."
The American Beverage Association has opposed any soda tax, calling it a "simplistic and ineffective solution" to the obesity problem.
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