Can soda make you fat?

Everyone knows that the added sugar and calories in regular soda is one of the causes of obesity in America. The reason for this is because when most children and adults consume sugary drinks, they don't realize how many calories they are actually consuming. A beverage is not as fully satisfying as solid food. If you drink a regular soda before dinner you will still be just as hungry, but if you have dessert before dinner with the same amount of calories as the soda, you will be less likely to eat as much.

The reason to worry now is because in the past years, children have been drinking soda as an alternatives to other beverages such as water and milk. This adds to the obesity epidemic without people even noticing.

The government has now issued a 2 cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks like soda. Will this help the obesity epidemic? Some researchers say it will because the extra dollar that is added to one beverage will halt people from purchasing soda on a daily basis. They will have to substitute regular soda for either diet soda or bottled water, which is generally sold at the same stores that regular soda is sold at.

In Philadelphia however, they government wants to make a greater tax on soda. This is because in inner city areas such as Philadelphia, most African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to purchase sugary drinks than most other Americans. When the prices become steeper, most people are not willing to travel to another city to purchase a sugary drink, therefore they will have to settle for diet soda or bottled water.

A $1 increase on the price of a 2 liter bottle of soda will save people 124 fewer calories a day and 2.34 lbs a year.

David S. Ludwig, a pediatric endocrinologist at Children's Hospital Boston conducted a study that tracked drink consumption by 548 children in Massachusetts public schools for 19 months. He found that each additional can of sugar sweetened drink a day increased the odds of becoming obese by 60%.

He also conducted another study that followed 50,000 nurses, old and young, for 8 years. This research concluded that increased consumption of regular soda was linked to greater weight gain and increased risk of Type II diabetes.

Both of these studies done by Ludwig were included in over 30 research papers. Some research papers found clear links between soda and obesity. Some concluded that there was no such associated between drinking soda and being obese. One study suggested that drinking soda only affected people who were already obese. And one study linked diet soda, as well as regular soda leads to increased body fat.

This wide range of findings leads to question whether or not there really is a link between soda and obesity. Some say that it's not just the soda that leads to obesity but it is a series of things. Things such as lack of exercise, metabolism, and other junk food containing sugar. If you put all of these things together, they will most definitely cause obesity. But how much of that obesity can be attributed to sugary drinks alone?

One study can be considered biased to some. The soda company conducted a study in which their results found that there was no link between drinking regular soda and being obese. In society today, this is clearly not 100% accurate, but rather a marketing campaign to keep people buying their products.

Philadelphia health commissioner Donald F. Shwartz states that no one action is going to stop obesity. "It is a series of actions, policy changes, and pilot programs that are likely to make a difference." He said a soda tax, besides hypothetically reducing consumption would also provide revenue to subsidize healthy foods, fund nutrition education campaign, and expand pedestrian and bike networks.

The soda tax, if fully implemented would raise about $77 million a year; $20 million of that would go towards helping the obesity epidemic.

To read the full Philly Times article on soda tax, click here.