Sugary drinks are one of the top sources of calories in the American diet and are a big contributor to the obesity epidemic.
Young people are exposed to a massive amount of marketing for sugary drinks, such as sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks, and fruit drinks. Despite industry pledges to market fewer unhealthy beverages to children, this report finds there is more—not less—advertising for sugary drinks overall.
Although many schools are making an effort to remove regular soda, other sugary drinks remain widely available in vending machines, school stores, and other locations. Sports drinks are by far the most commonly offered type of sugary drink available in U.S. middle and high schools.
A nationwide, penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would prevent thousands of heart attacks, strokes, and cases of diabetes, and help avoid billions of dollars in medical costs.
In the middle of a national obesity epidemic, many sports drinks sold in the United States contain high amounts of sugar, adding more calories to youths’ diets.
Over the past 30 years, U.S. children and adolescents have dramatically increased their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, including soda, fruit drinks and punches, and sports drinks.
Bridging the Gap examines how food and beverage prices affect consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and the potential impact of taxes on sugary drinks. The program also has the latest research about state-level taxes on snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Healthy Eating Research convened an expert advisory panel to develop a comprehensive set of age-based recommendations to define healthier beverages.
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June 1, 2013 | Journal Article
The association between regular and diet soft drink availability in schools and student consumption is examined in this article.
March 15, 2013 | Journal Article
Sugary drink offerings are easy to find in high school vending machines; soda not so available.
November 23, 2012 | Journal Article
This article is a systematic review of 21 recent U.S. studies on price elasticity of demand for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), fast food, and fruits and vegetables. Additionally, this review examines 20 studies assessing the direct association of prices/taxes with body weight outcomes.
October 1, 2012 | Journal Article
The food and beverages served in elementary school meal programs through the United States Department of Agriculture school meal program must meet certain federal nutrition standards. However, many schools also sell food through à la carte lines and ...
October 1, 2012 | Journal Article
Replacing sugar-sweetened beverages in the homes of overweight and obese adolescents improved participants’ diet and body weight at one year, but did not improve body weight or BMI over two years.
September 1, 2012 | Journal Article
Intervention increased students’ water consumption and decreased an average of 60.9 kcals during afterschool snack time.
August 14, 2012 | Issue Brief
Some Encouraging Progress, Additional Improvements are Needed
August 1, 2012 | Journal Article
Sweetened drinks are a primary source of added dietary sugar for children. Drinks obtained at school in “competitive venues”—outside of the federally reimbursable school meal program—significantly contribute to student caloric intake. These research ...
July 2, 2012 | News Release
The study examined the availability of competitive beverages in U.S. public elementary schools for five academic years, from 2006–07 to 2010–11. Competitive beverages are those sold by schools outside of meal programs through vending machines, à la ...
July 1, 2012 | Journal Article
Recent California legislation requires food service areas (FSAs) in school to provide free drinking water to students. This legislation aims to address the contribution of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) to rising obesity rates by ensuring the avai ...