Prevention Matters

New Yorkers’ efforts to curb salt use and the widespread presence of bacteria linked to feces at soda fountains were named the Best and Worst Prevention Ideas of the week.

The “Best/Worst” awards are given by “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Nominees are suggested by Partnership staff and the general public, and voted on by the staff. For more information about Partnership for Prevention, go to www.prevent.org .


BEST


NYC Seeks National Effort to Curb Salt Use

New York City officials plan to unveil a broad new health initiative aimed at encouraging food manufacturers and restaurant chains across the country to curtail the amount of salt in their products. The plan, for which the city claims support from health agencies in other cities and states, sets a goal of reducing the amount of salt in packaged and restaurant food by 25 percent over the next five years. Public health experts say that would reduce the incidence of high blood pressure and should help prevent some of the strokes and heart attacks associated with that condition. The plan is voluntary for food companies and involves no legislation. It allows companies to cut salt gradually over five years so the change is not so noticeable to consumers.


WORST

Bacteria Linked to Feces Found on Soda Fountains

A team of microbiologists from Hollins University found that 48% of the sodas they tested from fast food soda fountains had coliform bacteria. Coliform is typically fecal in origin. On top of that, the study found that most of the bacteria were resistant to antibiotics. The team tested 90 beverages from 30 fountains, and published their findings in the International Journal of Food Microbiology.

CNN's Mary Snow reports that New York Gov. David Patterson is open to revisiting the so called "fat tax" on soda.

Today we’re talking with Dr. Kelly Brownell, a professor and director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. Dr. Brownell led a group of prominent researchers who published an article in the Sept. 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that made a strong public health case for a tax on sweetened sodas and other beverages. The study has generated considerable debate and, while Congress has not yet incorporated such a proposal into health reform legislation that is currently being drafted, Dr. Brownell has continued to press for such steps to be taken at the federal and state levels. To listen to this podcast, click on the media player below. If you don't see a media player, click here.

Soda taxes have been in the news a lot lately. On one side are public health experts who say that soda taxes could address our nation’s obesity problem. They cite the success tobacco taxes have had in reducing smoking rates and the relationship between soda consumption and body weight. An article in this month’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine touts the health and economic benefits of taxing sugary drinks. The Institute of Medicine also recently released recommendations for local governments to combat childhood obesity that include implementing taxes to discourage consumption of foods with minimal nutritional value, which certainly include sugar-sweetened beverages.


Such taxes are also being discussed by policymakers. San Francisco’s mayor announced plans to introduce legislation this fall that will impose a fee on retailers selling sugary drinks, including soda. And President Obama was quoted as saying that soda taxes need to “be explored” as a way to reduce childhood obesity.

Not surprisingly, these proposed taxes are facing fierce opposition. This past Sunday’s Washington Post contains an opinion piece dispelling the 5 “myths” about soda taxes. Coca Cola’s CEO has weighed in on the issue calling a soda tax “socialist.” And anyone who reads a Sunday newspaper has surely seen the full-page ads run by Americans Against Food Taxes (aka, the beverage industry).

Opponents say that recent tax proposals aren’t large enough to impact obesity. That might be true, but they are missing the point. Drinking fewer sugary drinks has no downside (except possibly to the reduced profits of the beverage industry). These drinks push out healthier options like low-fat milk or water, and flood the body with excess calories that are rarely burned off and increase blood sugar levels. Teens consume the most soda and other sugary drinks, and are also historically price sensitive. Limiting their consumption of sugary drinks would cut their risk for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, all costly health problems. And with states cutting essential programs and services, they should be looking to increase revenue wherever possible. Soda taxes seem like a win-win situation.


Alyson Hazen Kristensen, MPH

Senior Fellow & Program Officer
Partnership for Prevention

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.

A penny-per-ounce excise tax could reduce consumption of sugared beverages by more than 10%, Dr. Kelly Brownell, Director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University and Dr. Thomas Frieden, Health Commissioner for the City of New York, suggest in an April 30 "Perspective" piece in the New England Journal of Medicine. Brownell and Frieden say a review of places that have enacted soda taxes shows that every 10% increase in the price results in a drop in consumption by 7.8%.

They say sugar-sweetened beverages may be the "single largest driver of the obesity epidemic," and that proposals to tax sugared beverages gain support from the general public if the revenue is used for programs to prevent childhood obesity, such as media campaigns, physical activity facilities, and healthier food in schools. A poll of New York residents found that 52% supported a "soda tax," but the number increased to 72% when respondents were told that the revenue would be used for obesity prevention.