Between 2003 and 2014, consumption of sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages declined and yet obesity has continued to rise. Yet governments seeking new sources of revenue are looking for reasons to place sin taxes on soda are saying it's for public health.
When even Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health says it's not so clear, you can bet it's not clear. They are usually on the front lines of scaremongering some food types and promoting new food fads. However, not all groups showed a decline. Kids still like soda, as do black and Hispanic groups, which lends weight to concern by free-market groups that soda taxes are inherently racist.
In Obesity, national data on beverage consumption from the Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)of 18,600 children aged 2 to 19, and 27,652 adults aged 20 or older were asked about their consumption of seven different beverage types in the previous 24 hours: sweetened beverages like sodas and juice, unsweetened juice, diet beverages, milk (including flavored milk), unsweetened coffee or tea, alcohol, and water.
Overall beverage and sweetened beverage consumption declined for children and adults. In 2013-2014, 60.7 percent of children and 50.0 percent of adults reported drinking a sweetened beverage on a given day; in 2003-2004, 79.7 percent of children and 61.5 percent of adults reported drinking a sweetened beverage.
White adults experienced declines in sweetened beverage consumption across almost all age groups, but remained highest among black and Hispanic adolescents--groups at higher risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes. Milk and water consumption was up, but different activists are concerned about water bottles.
