Get Off Your Can! WSJ Article on Soft Drinks Misses the Mark

The article written by Valerie Bauerlein and Betsy McKay titled, "Soda Tax Uncaps a Fight", which appeared on page A3 of the May 24th, 2010 issue of the Wall Street Journal, clearly missed the mark. The gist of the article is that states are considering imposing an excise tax on "sweetened drinks" as a way to plug budget shortfalls. Kevin Kane, a spokesman for the American Beverage Association is quoted as saying, "This is all about grabbing money to fill budget deficits and pay for more government," or so he would have you think.The fact is that soft drinks are the #1 source of calories for Americans. In case you've had your head in the sand, we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic in the U.S. 70% of Americans are overweight! 30% of Americans are obese! According to the National Institutes of Health, a person is obese if they are 30 or morepounds overweight. The leading cause of our obesity epidemic is our consumption of soft drinks.According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. pays twice as much as any other developed nation per capita for healthcare. OECD data also shows that the U.S. has double the obesity rate of any other developed nation. Let's face it, we pay twice as much because we are lazy and we have a pitiful diet. "Junk food" has been a buzz phrase for decades, what about "junk drinks"? A regular 12oz. Coke has 140 calories and the equivalent of 7 teaspoons of sugar.Our behavior is what is driving our medical costs and putting a huge strain on our financial system. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, 70% of medical and pharmacy claims are from poor lifestyle choices. Poor nutrition is the #1 behavioral cause of health problems and is a factor in 71% of behavior related claims. Furthermore, the American Cancer Society estimates that one-third of the more than 500,000 cancer deaths that occur in the U.S. each year are attributed to diet and physical activity habits, including overweight and obesity, while another third is caused by exposure to tobacco products.In an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by A.H. Mokdad and J.S Marks, they state that poor diet and physical activity were the second leading cause of behavior related death in the U.S. in 2000 and accounted for 400,000 deaths. Use of tobacco was 1st causing 435,000 deaths and alcohol consumption was 3rd causing 85,000 deaths.The economic impact of obesity is staggering. According to the National Business Group on Health, the effects of obesity are similar to 20 years of aging and individuals who are obese have 30% to 50% more chronic medical problems than those who smoke or drink heavily. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine compared a group of people having a recommended body mass index to 3 different classes of obesity. The study found that those in Obesity Class III had medical, disability and workers compensation costs that were 191%, 755% and 1194%, respectively, higher than the non-obese control group. Similarly, a Duke University Medical Center study of 11,728 employees from 1997 to 2004 found that obese employees filed twice as many workers compensation claims, had 7 times higher medical costs from those claims and lost 13 times more days from work injury or work illness than did non-obese employees.Poor nutrition, lack of exercise and diabetes go hand in hand. Cases of diabetes in the U.S. doubled from 1990 to 2005 and are expected to double again by 2030. The incidence of Type II Diabetes in adolescence has increased 10 times over the last decade and now constitute just over 1/3 of new pediatric diabetes cases. It is estimated that 80% of Type II Diabetes cases are preventable with diet and exercise.The facts are clear. There is an obesity epidemic in the U.S. and it is driven by poor nutrition and lack of exercise. The number one source of calories for Americans and, therefore, the leading cause of obesity in the U.S. are soft drinks. States have enacted excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco to recoup increased medical care costs because of their consumption and to encourage healthy behavior. An excise tax on soft drinks used to offset the financial burden of obesity, to fund diet and exercise education in schools and to provide healthy food in schools is long overdue.