Soda flows freely in California

The stereotypical Californian may sip chai lattes or guzzle green tea, but we actually drink lots of soda.

In fact, 24% of California adults drink at least one soda or other sweetened beverage each day, and an additional 36% imbibe occasionally, according to a report released today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.

That’s nothing compared with kids. The report -- "Bubbling Over: Soda Consumption and Its Link to Obesity in California"-- says that 41% of children between ages 2 and 11 drink at least a soda a day, along with 62% of teens. An astounding 13% of 12-to-17-year-olds drink three or more sodas on a daily basis.

Obviously, this can’t be good for us. But how bad is it? The average daily intake for teens is 1.2 sodas. Assuming that each “soda” is a mere 12-ounce can – and many servings are much larger – that works out to 39 pounds of sugar a year.

Not surprisingly, the report links soda consumption to excess – and unhealthy – body weight. For instance, 62% of adults who drink soda daily are overweight or obese, compared with 52% who don’t drink soda at all (another surprisingly high figure). Put another way, adults who drink soda occasionally are 15% more likely to have a weight problem than those who abstain, and adults who drink it daily are 27% more likely.

The researchers ranked California counties according to soda consumption. Imperial County boasted the highest rate of daily soda-drinking among children (60.7%); Tulare County took top honors for teens (71%), and Kings County topped the list for adults (39.1%). On the other end of the spectrum, Marin County had the lowest rate of kids (18.4%) and adults (10.6%) who drank at least one soda per day. The lowest rate for teens was in Mendocino County (39%).

Why should we care? Carrying around extra pounds is associated with an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer and other causes of premature death. The annual cost of being overweight and obesity is $21 billion in California alone, according to another study by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.

The results are based on data collected from the 2005 California Health Interview Survey, which included more than 4,000 adolescents and 43,000 adults. Participants were asked about drinking soda, “such as Coke or 7-Up,” and about “fruit-flavored drinks such as lemonade or Sunny Delight.” The survey did not ask specifically about sports drinks like Gatorade – which have recently joined the ranks of sugary beverages that public health experts like to discourage – so the results probably understate the number of calories Californians consume in liquid form, said the report’s lead author, UCLA research scientist Susan Babey.

Interviews were conducted in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Korean. The survey was funded by state agencies, the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and private foundations.

-- Karen Kaplan

Photo: Soda fuels California teens, according to a new report.

Credit: Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Jeff Greenwalt]

What really scares me about articles like this is that we (as consumers of such information) lack the critical thinking skills to be skeptical of such 'science' . Maybe the 24% who drank soda also watched 6 hours of TV each day, or were depressed, or did this that or the other things in common. Naw...we won't think about that, we'll just pick one product out of all the crappy stuff many obese people eat and the often poor exercise habits they possess and say 'let's tax it!'...'this will surely help all these poor obese people.' Nope, this isn't about obese people, I think it's about politics and tax revenue. And most Americans are too dump or lazy to see the real story.

[Kim Galeaz RD]

Some points to ponder from a registered dietitian's perspective:
1. The statistics in this report do not show cause and effect - only correlation. Soda does not uniquely contribute to obesity or any other chronic disease. In fact, a review published in Nutrition Research Reviews concluded there is little evidence that sugar-sweetened drinks are more likely than ANY OTHER source of calories to lead to obesity. Remember: ALL calories count when it comes to weight management, not just sugar calories.
2. California is missing the bigger picture of wellness and health by focusing on just soda. I encourage everyone to look closely at the data in this report: 56% of Californians are overweight or obese. 24% of those respondents drink at least one soda/sweetened beverage daily. What is contributing to the other 32% and their obesity? Why is this report blaming and targeting JUST soda?!
3. In other words - does anyone wonder what other factors come into play with soda-drinking overweight people? What else are they drinking and eating - or not eating? How much exercise are they getting - or not getting?
4. We will make a dent in obesity only when everyone learns how to take responsibility for BALANCING their food and beverage choices, rather than avoiding or eliminating specific items. In essence, be more active and get consistent exercise, stay within your own personal calorie level, make sure you eat the right amount of all the nutrient-rich foods to ward off disease/boost immunity and learn HOW to ENJOY sugary drinks/desserts/treats in MODERATE amounts to fit your calorie level.
5. As a nutrition consultant to the food and beverage industry, I'm thrilled we can enjoy so many food and beverage choices. Let's stop blaming and take responsibility. Kim Galeaz, RD

[david]

The problem here is not Soda per se. The problem is that high fructose corn syrup does not make an impact on the brain telling us that we've had enough (any) calories. HFCS is a sugar substitute that the brain doesn't recognize which is why so many of us can drink a 64 oz Super Gulp from 7-11 and still want more. Drinks (even sodas) made with real cane sugar don't fool our brains and we can feel full after drinking a 12oz can. The real problem is not just that HFCS is in sodas, it is in juice, breads, cereals, and many other "regular" foods. We are eating more than ever because we're not feeling full after consuming food sweetened with HFCS. Servings have become bigger since HFCS hasn't let us feel full. We've been able to eat super sized value meals because it's in the hamburger buns and it's in the soda (the 2 most filling parts of the value meal).

If this country is going to get to healthy weights by taxing unhealthy food, tax HFCS and force the manufacturers to use organic or cane sugar sweeteners if any at all. Soda manufacturers who use high quality ingretients will be squeezed tighter in the market for a problem they're not solely responsible for. Irresponsible food manufacturers (using HFCS) will continue to be safe while their products keep making obesity and diabetes our biggest health problems.

High fructose corn syrup is not allowed in any significant quantities in many other countries around the globe. At the same time, they have McDonalds and Burger King and Coca Cola but lower instances of obesity and diabetes. Why do we still allow HFCS it in our breads, juices and sodas by the truckload?

I suggest that you read your food labels carefully to avoid artificial sweeteners. This country will never change. Disease is profitable for the health care industry and taxing the wrong things that don't solve anything make money for the government. Good luck, America.

[Fooducate]

The tax should be levied on the manufacturers, not the consumers.
Think “Calorie Offsets”, much like carbon offsets in the industrial sector.

details:
http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2009/09/17/calorie-offsets-instead-of-soda-tax/

[Dan]

Hmmmm, survey done in 2005 and this is 2009, four years later. This article is in relation to the health reform push. Congress is also looking to tax all sugar etc. products to help pay for the reform. How come it took four years to release this report? How about some critical journalism and digging deeper for the facts. I have never been part of any survey, so, I'm always skeptical of the data. How many people did they survey, what nationality, etc. etc. etc.

[Alex]

To david at 8:30 am,

No, drinks sweetened with cane sugar don't make people feel full! The body fails to compensate for calories from ANY type of sweetened beverage.

People who drink beverages containing cane sugar consume just as many calories as people who drink beverages containing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

People who drink ANY kind of sweetened beverage consume more calories that day than people who drink zero-calorie beverages like water.

HFCS is not a "sugar substitute," it IS a type of sugar. It's a manufactured form, not a natural one, but it's still a sugar.

If you replaced all the HFCS in drinks with cane sugar, we'd still have a lot of people with obesity and diabetes caused by drinking sweet drinks.

Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that any kind of added sugar is healthy! It's not. A soda made with cane sugar is still junk food, a cookie made with organic flour and organic sugar is still junk food.

If you're thirsty, don't drink anything containing added sugar. Stick to zero-calorie or low-calorie drinks like water, tea, MAYBE diet soda (but stay away from it if you can).

Here's a link to a study about cane sugar and HFCS in beverages.
http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleID=35015

[Alex]

By the way, Kim Galeaz RD,

How does it feel to realize that you're spending your time on Earth shilling for an industry that spends billions of dollars every year on psychological coercion tactics against young children, in order to get them to consume more and more of a product that we KNOW is damaging to health?

Yes, we KNOW what consuming refined sugars does, even at moderate levels.

How does it feel to know that you, as a dietitian, are defending the single largest source of added sugars in the American diet -- when the American Heart Association announced the need to limit sugars just two weeks ago, and SPECIFICALLY recommended that people cut back on soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages?

How does it feel to know that you're misusing your position as a registered dietitian to defend a product that has no redeeming health value and that we know serves only to damage health?

How does it feel to know that you're misusing your position as a registered dietitian to defend a product that is responsible for nearly half of the additional calories Americans have consumed since the 1970s?

How does it feel to know that you're spouting lines that are nearly identical to the ones used by Big Tobacco in its defense of cigarettes?

[hcg diet weight loss]

i think you are very smart and you are 100% right your a very smart person we need more ppl like you in this world

[hcg diet weight loss]

i think you are very smart and you are 100% right your a very smart person we need more ppl like you in this world

[Fatty]

To Dan: The CHIS survey is very reputable, and the questions you asked on sample size, etc are all clearly indicated in the article; it is representative of the entire California population, so imagine the diversity respresented. Why 2005? Because data is available for that year. Survey research is very technical and a scientific way to describe the trends.

[Ronin]

You forgot another reason some areas may be higher in soda consumption. How hot does it get in the area?

[Tom]

I drink soda. I am 5'10", 160 pounds. I am clearly not obese. I also drink beer, and enjoy cheeseburgers. Everything in moderation.

Weight control is not about what you consume, its about matching your calorie intake to your calorie usage determined by your activity level and your metabolism. Enough with the discrimination of heavy people. There is a thing in this country called freedom of personal choice. Nobody has a right to judge others diets.

[H2O]

Way to go Alex. People should avoid sweetened beverages period! A couple of weeks ago I was visiting a zoo and nearly every young child in a stroller was loaded down with sodas and large bags of chips. Americans no longer use any common sense. Like the "registered dietician," we prefer to spend time justifying our poor eating habits. When your children are thirsty, give them a glass a water, for pete's sake, and do not let them constantly snack on junk food. In fact, create a junk food free zone at home. Just watch footage from the '60s and '70s- kids and teens were very thin compared to now. Why? We were served nothing but milk with school lunches, no pizzas, no soda machines or fast food restaurants on every corner, and half the grocery store aisles were not filled with processed foods. Its pretty much a no-brainer. I'm not sure why we endlessly ponder what is making Americans fat.

[lee]

@Alex

Kim Galeaz the dietitian introduced a well informed, nuanced perspective on a challenging issue. Your post spun a lot of paranoid theory about the sugar / soda industrial complex schemeing to "coerce" children into drinking their fatty product. America's most time honored ad hominem attack is to discredit an opponent by baselessly attacking them as corporate shill.

A can of non diet coke (at the top of my head) has about 120-160 calries. Empty stuff without nutritional value for sure, but that's half the calorie of a tall latte from some coffee houses. The key is moderation. Health nuts won't touch anything other than water, but most people can't be that strict. The individual is ultimately responsible for tending to his health.

[JEB]

Please please tell them to stop using corn syrup! Suger is not bad in moderation. Corn Syrup is NOT natural!!!!

[Joseph]

David, what are you talking about? What do you think the fructose is in high fructose corn syrup? SUGAR. Table sugar, or sucrose, is a condensate of fructose and glucose, which are sugars in their natural state.

[jenna]

I agree with the article. Sugary drinks & soda were seldom in our home when we were young. Juice and snack foods were allowed in very small quantities. I think if we teach moderation to our children, we won't have such a problem. We were taught to limit our intake of sugary foods/drinks. As an adult, my friends are drinking at least 1 can of soda per day or when we are dining out, they'll have one with their meals.
jenna

[It's A Free Country]

Tax is a bad form of wealth redistribution. Don't you (law makers) try to tax it by using all these negative information scare tactics, say you REALLLY want to help the nation we should ban soda, liqueur and cigarette by close down Coca-Colar, Pepsi, Budweiser, Phillip Morris and thousands of companies that produce all these products - I think you know much sales tax and employment and society cost they are contribute.

This is a free society, you can't really stop people from doing something by taxing them at the end it cost more to the people and at the end the country. Things that you should stop is the CALPERS - California Public Employee Worker Union and the Teacher Union, the unlimited pension and salary growth is one of the main causes in California (or the country) budget deficit. 85% last paycheck pension fund till death (and not to forget health care, medi care), that is too much for the society and the country.

[poopsmear]

What is it?! A kindergarten? The kids who don't know better? If you ask me, Uncle Sam is getting ready for another witch hunt, similar to the one against Big Tobacco. How about taxing obese people instead? Something similar to European road tax, which is calculated depending on the size of your car? That'll straighten their dietary habits and pass the bill mandating them to buy two adjacent seats on airplane instead crashing some poor guy's rib cage during the flight.

[A Rothman, Los Angeles, CA]

I LOVE SODA! Five years ago, I used to have 8 soda's a week. I now have 1/2 soda a week. I gave it up and you can too.

And yet my weight continues to go up. I have gained 8 pounds since giving up soda. Maybe its aging- I turned 40 during those 5 years. Maybe its those free candy that M&M Mars was giving out. It could be ice cream. Or my love of rice and pasta.

Targeting one particular source will not work. They will move from soda to juices, fattening cookies, cakes etc. We need to attack the problem from all angles and exercise.

[Robin]

I have noticed that whenever you see studies like this, people fail to mention Diet Soda!!
I am diabetic (since I was nine) , NOT overweight, and I never drink regular sode, just diet. the only thing is, I drink lots of it!! growing up, not being able to drink or eat sweets, Diet cola is the only "sweet" thing available pretty much everywhere that i can enjoy, without it affecting my blood sugars.

But I admit, I drink too much of it. and family tell me they read reports that soda , dont drink it, etc. But when I find these studies, they all refer to regular high fructose soda!! When I visit the doctor and they ask if i drink soda, I reply yes, (but in my experience, Im saying yes to diet soda) and the doctor always assumes I'm reffering to regular soda!!

It just irks me that everyone lumps diet and regular soda in the same group!!

[Chris]

To Alex:
Companies create products to sell them. Sodas are sold because people buy them. They buy them because they WANT them, they don't NEED them. This want develops from the satisfaction created from drinking a soda. Sodas(the companies that produce them)do not claim to be physically healthy or contribute to a healthy diet. The decision to consume them, lays with the consumer. A large portion of companies that sell foods and beverages hire Dietitions to consult. They do so to make quality products that consumers will buy. If you read Kim's comment, she doesn't say that soda is good for you. She says that it's an option available to enjoy at your own discretion. It's known that soda is bad for you compared to water or not from concentrate juices. No one should be drinks sodas breakfast, lunch and dinner. But that's the decision of the consumer. And yes, despite this, I'm drinking a soda right now. But I also ran ten miles this morning and after drinking a few glasses of water, this soda just tastes great.

[Melvin Ku]

Message to Jeff Greenwalt,

The potential to tax soda is concerning for many since so many of us drink soda. I do, quite frequently, myself. However, with the diabesity epidemic happening within America, how might you suggest we approach the health problems we face in America? Now, maybe, you may be immune to these problems since your education and circumstance has provided you with better insight or opportunities for you to be healthier. For others, this may not be the case. Whether it be Medicaid or Medicare, American taxpayers are shouldering the expense of individuals who along with their genetics, have suboptimal lifestyles (diet and exercise). A "soda tax" is simply a path to help address this issue of diabetes and obesity within America by funneling revenue to help address these health problems. Just like a tax on smoking, I see no problem with trying to help the government and the healthcare system grapple with trying to improve patient lives.

Thanks for hearing me out, Jeff.

Sincerely,
Melvin Ku
3rd-year Medical Student
Michigan State University-College of Human Medicine

[Conflickr]

If mommy and daddy keeps buying the soda for Jr. then it looks like the parents failed.

[Conflickr]

If mommy and daddy keeps buying the soda for Jr. then it looks like the parents failed.