Warning Labels from the Surgeon General on Soda?

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Warning Labels from the Surgeon General on Soda?

 

Marilynn Marchione of the Associated Press reports that new studies

by two groups of researchers claim that consumption of sugar-

sweetened drinks actually causes obesity. While it is widely agreed

that soda contributes to weight gain, labeling soda as a standalone

cause is a new idea that's ruffling some feathers.

 

Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Thun says:

 

" Caloric imbalance causes obesity, so in the sense that any one part

of the diet is contributing excess calories, it's contributing

causally to the obesity, " Thun said. " It doesn't mean that something

is the only cause. It means that in the absence of that factor there

would be less of that condition. "

 

Does it merit a warning on soda cans?

 

" I think it would be a good candidate for a warning, " Thun

said. " It's something that should be seriously considered. "

 

 

In Dr. Fuhrman's book Disease Proof Your Child he discusses soft

drinks and rising obesity rates:

 

Obesity rates have risen in tandem with soda consumption in the

United States, and in the last twenty years the consumption of soft

drinks by teenagers had doubled.1 Twelve to nineteen-year-old boys

consume thirty-four teaspoons of sugar a day in their diet, and

about half of that comes from soft drinks. Children start drinking

soft drinks at a very young age, and advertisements and promotions

by the soft drink manufacturers are aggressively marketed to the

young.

 

 

 

 

Source: Data from the National Soft Drink Association, Beverage

World, published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest

(www.cspinet.org)

 

Soft drinks and processed foods are full of high-fructose corn syrup

(HFCS). HFCS is not only fattening, but this inexpensive and ultra-

concentrated sugar has no resemblance to real food made by nature.

It is another experiment thrust upon our unsuspecting children with

unknown dangerous consequences. Besides sugar, corn syrup, and

chemicals, these drinks often contain caffeine, an addictive

stimulant. Children crave more and more as they get older. By

adolescence most children have become soft-drink addicts. It is no

surprise that six out of the seven most popular soft drinks contain

caffeine. Contrast this high level of sugary " liquid candy " with the

meager intake of fresh produce by children and teenagers, and it is

no surprise that we have an obesity epidemic beyond all

expectations.

 

 

1. French SA, Lin BH, Guthrie JF. National trends in soft drink

consumption among children and adolescents age 6 to 17 years:

prevalence, amounts, and sources, 1977/1978 to 1994/1998. J Am Diet

Assoc 2003;103(10):1326-1331.

http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/hurtful-food-warning-labels-

from-the-surgeon-general-on-soda.html