Persuasive Essay On Sugary Drinks

A stereotypical American meal is a cheeseburger; fries; and a crisp, bubbly, large Coca-Cola. This classic is a meal with 86 grams of sugar, and that’s before you add in the burger and fries. It is no wonder America is known for obesity when people look at the drink choices. The average American was estimated to drink 168 liters of soft drinks in 2011, while the UK drank 57 liters per person and China drank a little under 11 liters per person. Areas that have lower consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks, such as South East Asia, are also areas that have the lowest obesity rate. While there is no proof that the low obesity rates are caused by drink less sugary drinks instead of other dietary choice, it is reasonable to conclude that low consumption

In order to protect children from being affected, many programs have been implemented such as the removal of sugary drinks from schools and restaurants. Many restaurants, such as Panera, Chipotle, McDonald 's, and Burger King, have taken soft drinks off of their kids menu and Davis county in California passed an ordinance to make milk and water the main choices for kids menus at restaurants in their county. Two campaigns by first lady Michelle Obama have come out to reduce sugary drink consumption: “let’s move”, which limited sugar amounts in food and drinks sold in schools and stopped advertisements in schools from sugar-sweetened soft drinks, and “drink up”, which suggested people make water their drink of choice. Federal and state governments are also deciding whether to include and excise tax on sugar sweetened beverages to cover the cost of medical problems related to obesity from sugary drinks and to deter people from consuming them. At least 39 states already have a small tax on sugary drinks, but it is too small to reduce consumption of sugary drinks by a significant amount. In order to make people more aware of the amount of added sugar in their food and beverages, the FDA proposed to add a row for added sugar on the nutrition fact label. This could help people realize how much sugar is part of a healthful package and how much is without nutrients, fiber, antioxidants and other healthful