SUGARY DRINKS

Americans consume more calories more each day than they ever have, and research shows that these calories often come from sugar sweetened beverages. Drinking one additional serving of a sugar sweetened beverage per day significantly increases the chance a child will be obese. “Sugary drinks” includes all beverages that are sweetened with various forms of sugars that add calories (carbonated sodas, sports and energy drinks, sweetened rice and dairy beverages, lemonade, sweetened teas and coffees, etc.). Several policy and legal strategies can reduce the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages, including healthy food purchasing and vending policies in schools and workplaces, government ordinances restricting the sale of unhealthy beverages on public property, restrictions on the sale of these beverages in schools, and increasing the price of these beverages through taxes or other pricing policies.