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Sodas Make You Fat

Researchers are strengthening their fight against sodas, adding weight to the charge that sodas cause obesity. And yes, I sincerely apologize for the pun on “weight”. I’ll try not to let that happen again.

It seems as though scientists are moving forward in their effort to prove a causal relationship between sodas and obesity. Most of the evidence is circumstantial at this point, but more and more evidence is being collected that in some way or another supports this relationship. Here the article’s author opines about the significance of the proof of a link between soda and obesity:

A small point? In reality, proving this would be a scientific leap that could help make the case for higher taxes on soda, restrictions on how and where it is sold — maybe even a surgeon general’s warning on labels.

I don’t know the history of Coca-Cola all too well, but I do know as the number one name brand in the world they might have had the ability to fight a piece of legislation or two in their day. Science will eventually bear out evidence supporting one theory or another, but if you thought the oil or pharmaceutical industries fought legislation hard, wait until someone tries to slap a surgeon general’s warning on a can of Coke. Heads will roll.

I found the following take on a portion of the soda debate pretty interesting:

As for soda being linked to poor eating patterns, “you don’t know which is cause and which is effect,” Drewnowski said.

People who consume lots of fresh-squeezed juice, vegetables and fruits are fundamentally not the same as those who subsist on colas and bologna sandwiches, he contends.

“There is a difference: The first group is rich,” Drewnowski said. He thinks government subsidies of fruits and vegetables would be better public policy than taxing a cheap source of calories.

I have seen this brought up time and again in obesity discussions in the past year or so. Poor people are fat. Well, not really. But the number of obese persons per capita is higher in the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. Now, would subsidizing fruit and vegetables help here? If those who cannot currently afford enough fruit and vegetables would purchase them if they were cheaper. If these people would still buy the same junk foods regardless of the price of fruit and vegetables, then other avenues would have to be explored.

It’s pretty clear at this point that obesity is becoming an increasingly devastating drain on the economy, not to mention the effect on the quality of life of tens of millions of people in this country. Measures certainly have to be taken to fight this epidemic off. We won’t hear the end to the debate about sodas for some time yet, though.