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Sugary drinks are one of the mainstays of many children's diets. The omnipresence of its stores, its low cost, its slender marketing and its sweet taste of sodas, sports drinks and fruit-flavored drinks appeal to all children. As adults, we must do more to protect our children from real and lasting damage caused by these drinks to the health of our children.
For years, pediatricians and the public health community have tried various strategies to get kids to eat less added sugar. We talk about eating well with patients and their families. We encourage children to eat more fruits and vegetables and to avoid sugary drinks. We share the irrefutable evidence linking too much sugar to diabetes, heart disease, dental caries and many other health problems.
Unfortunately, this important health message is drowned by a beverage industry that floods our children with advertisements that deform sugary drinks into fun, safe, and even healthy ones. The results speak for themselves. The beverage industry has been financially rewarded for its efforts. A typical US child consumes more than 30 gallons of sweetened beverages each year. That's enough to fill a bathtub. Dietary recommendations for 2015-2020 Americans recommend that children and adolescents consume less than 10% of calories from added sugars. But the data shows that children and adolescents now consume nearly double that consumption, of which more than half comes from drinks.
We agree that making good individual choices and fostering healthy homes is of paramount importance. But it is equally important to create public policies and an environment in which healthier options and choices are available and encouraged. Experience has taught us that there is a need to combine education and public policies to reduce drunk driving, reduce tobacco use and combat drug abuse. Alcohol abuse. Similar public health initiatives are needed to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among children and adolescents, as well as to reduce the number of deaths per year by 40,000 in the United States resulting from the consumption of too many sugary drinks.
In a new policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association are supporting several public health measures aimed at reducing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by children, including increased taxes, a reduction in marketing to children and adolescents, fixing milk and water as default options for children. restaurant menus, the introduction of nutrition and warning labels and the support of hospital policies limiting or discouraging their purchase
These policies work. Price increases are associated with declines in consumption. The increase in tobacco taxes has resulted in a sharp drop in cigarette use in states and communities across the country, particularly among children and people of lower socioeconomic status. Excise taxes on alcohol have reduced the excessive consumption of alcohol and alcohol-related crashes.
Taxes on sweetened beverages show a similar trend. They have been successful in reducing their use in cities such as Berkeley, California, San Francisco and Philadelphia, particularly among populations with above average heart and diabetes rates. The revenues generated by these taxes also enable children to have a healthier future, from expanding pre-kindergarten programs to supporting community schools and modernizing parks and recreation facilities. States such as California, Connecticut and Massachusetts are considering adopting legislation on the sweet beverage tax, and we support these bills without reservation.
We see momentum for other policies endorsed in the joint statement:
- California, New York City, Baltimore and other jurisdictions have passed laws to ensure that children's beverages, including milk and water, are the norm on children's menus. Even the American Beverage Association has subscribed to the New York law.
- Next year, the "Nutrition Facts" label of many packaged foods and beverages will be updated to include added sugars. This change will help prevent about one million cases of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the country.
- Restaurant chains across the country are now required to display calorie information on their menus and provide consumers with additional nutrition information, which will save the health system an estimated $ 8 billion in savings. dollars over the next 20 years.
Every child deserves to grow up in good health. We can promote healthy beverages and discourage the consumption of sugary drinks through proven strategic initiatives such as taxes, menu changes and nutritional education. Children and families across the country will benefit.
Dr. Natalie Muth, a pediatrician and nutritionist, was the principal author of the recent official statements by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association, entitled "Public Policies to Reduce the Consumption of Sugar Drinks among Canadians." children and adolescents ". Dr. Rachel Johnson has been Chair of the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association.
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