When I was little I loved the days I played at my best
friends house because here mom would always let us drink sprite or root beer
with our lunches. My mom on the other hand would always make us drink water or
milk… “No fair!” is what I used to tell my mom. “All the other kids get to
drink soda.” Now I am forever grateful as is my waistline for my mom teaching
me at a young age to avoid sugared soda.
Obesity has become an epidemic, and I believe a main
contributor to this problem is that America has become super-sized. Americans
are consuming much of their daily calories just in the sugary sodas that they
drink. I believe that although America is super, we must stop everything from
being super-sized. We must impose regulations and implement programs to end
this epidemic before our country suffers too greatly from this disease.
One of the best ways to address this problem is to impose a tax on sugared sodas. New York State is a perfect example of this. In 2008 New York’s Mayer Patch and New York State Health commissioner Richard Daines proposed a plan to put an 18% tax on sugary drinks—such as soda, sports drinks, and juices with added sugar.
This original idea of a tax on soda did not gain
enough support to pass and become a law, however, New York’s current Mayor;
Mayor Bloomberg did not give up the idea of doing something. Despite it’s
controversy, he passed a ban on the size of soft drinks that could be served in
New York. No sugared drinks over 16 ounces could be served at restaurants,
concessions, movie theaters, stadiums and arenas.
One of the problems
of this imposed ban was that it did not pertain to supermarkets, groceries or
convenience stores. This means that you can still go to 7-11 and get your 64oz.
Big Gulp Mountain Dew. Which by the way has 880 calories! You could eat three
slices of cheesecake for the same number of calories. I don’t know about you,
but I would much rather stuff myself with delicious cheesecake and have a glass
of milk rather than drink soda that looks like cat pee.
The question this brings up is whether this ban is really
reducing the amount of sugared drinks consumed, or are people just getting them
in a different place? I believe that although this is not solving the problem,
it is helping with it. At least at fast food restaurants kids can’t order a
giant 500-calorie soda, every little bit helps! I believe it is our duty to do
what we can. I think New York has taken an important step towards promoting
better health for the children in America. I believe all states should
implement this same program, let’s keep America super in every category… except
the size of our children.
I agree that there is a need for the United States to make some healthier changes in their life styles. It would be beneficial in many ways. However, I am not sure that it will ever be possible to "ban" sugared sodas or unhealthy foods, or limit the size. Instead of focusing on outlawing bad foods and drinks, would an effort to raise awareness of the unhealthy consequences be better spent? Many who are consuming 880 calories per drink, are not aware, or do not realize the impact it can have on their body. Rather than banning sugary drinks, provide Americans, specifically students, with information so that they can avoid it on their own choice.
ReplyDeleteI definitely understand where you are coming from. I like your idea of not focusing as much on banning unhealthy drinks but focusing more on raising awareness about the problems and effects of drinking sugared soda. You are right in saying that there are many people out there who are probably just unaware that they are consuming that many of their daily calories in what they drink. I think especially teaching children about the health effects when they are young will help our country because they can become a healthier generation and than pass that on to their children. Thanks for the advice!
DeleteI definitely agree that America is not the healthiest country in the world; we could use some healthy changes around here. However, I'm not convinced that putting a tax on soda is really going to make that much of a difference. If people really want to drink their sodas, they will just go somewhere else to get it. For the sake of argument, say that putting this tax did help a bit. What about the states, like Oregon, that don't have sales tax? Would they have to put a tax on soda too?
ReplyDeleteAbout sports drinks, why would you put a tax on these drinks? Drinks like Gatorade actually help athletes, especially those doing arduous workouts, like marathoners. Is it fair to tax them because they are trying to be healthy and hydrate their bodies well?
You make a good point about states such as Oregon, I had not thought about that. I also understand where you are coming from with the sports drinks, the problem is that when people are drinking them during physical activity it can help their performance. However, often people just drink them for the taste when they are not working out and than they don't burn off the calories, but there is no way to monitor that so I think the best option would just be to raise awareness about being healthier. I think the tax is still a good option, but I do see the problems you pointed out with it. This was good feedback, thank you!
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