Prevention Matters

A first-of-its-kind study released definitively links soda consumption and an obesity epidemic. Using interviews with 43,000 adults and 4,000 adolescents in California, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research analyzed the correlation between soft drink consumption and weight. It found that adults who drink at least one soda or sugar-sweetened energy drink a day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight or obese. For children, the risk of obesity soars 60 percent with each daily serving of soda or sugary beverage.

The UCLA Medal, the university's highest honor, has been awarded to Dr. Jonathan Fielding, the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, a county health officer and a professor at the UCLA School of Public Health, for his work as an innovator, leader and public health visionary. Fielding is chairman of Partnership for Prevention's Board of Directors.