Obesity has become an epidemic in the US. The rates of obesity and overweight in US are reported to be higher than ever before. The increase has been estimated to be in its increase since the last 30 years and it has been soaring year after year. Health practitioners predict that the current US children’s generation can live for shorter time than their parents can because of obesity. Various researchers blame the various food choices that Americans are making to be the root cause of the epidemic. The food industry is pushing junk and sugary foods to citizens in skyrocketing rates and sophisticated ways. Sugary beverages are affecting negatively on the health status of Americans. Sport, energy and Soda drinks form the largest portion of the additional sugars in the average diet for Americans.
There is a linkage between obesity and added sugar and sugary beverages with serious health problems among them is obesity and risk of getting diabetes type 2 and other diseases. A survey carried across California counties by telephone for registered voters, showed that, two out of three of voters equivalent to 66% across the twelve counties of California consider obesity as serious problem in the United States of America and its conditions are much severe in the California than any other state in the country. Another research confirmed that consumption of caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee are associated with risks of type 2 diabetes. Just as other sugar added beverages caffeinated beverages risks a person to diabetes 2. The criticality of this epidemic of sugary drinks is based on its effect, which is wide spread. Sugary drinks are consumed by a wider population in the society and it is unimaginable that such a group of people are risking obesity and diabetes type 2 (Lobstein, 2013).
As from 1977 to 2001, the daily calories of Americans increased by 250-300 calories of which nearly 43% came from sugary drinks alone. There exists a strong scientific evidence linking obesity with sugary drink consumption. Statistics show children taking one or more sugary drinks daily have 55% greater odds of being obese or overweight. The sugar-sweetened drinks have doubled in the US over the previous years and its availability is expanding due to the intensive campaigns that the various companies are putting into place. The sugary drinks are detrimental to the health of young children as they are mostly fond of these drinks. National survey has indicated that 66% of 2-11 years old children take sugar-sweetened beverages. An average of 69 calories in the daily diet of children age 2-5 is derived from sugar-sweetened drinks. The intake is considered to be detrimental as in California, 62% of youth between 12 years and 17 years old, 41% of children of ages 2 years to 11 years old and 24 % of adults take an average of or more sodas per day (Velten, 2013). The figures appear to be severe enough to necessitate a bill enactment to control since the alternatives have been effective but not to the threshold.
The previous campaigns against junk foods and sugary drinks in the whole of America beard fruits but the junk foods and sugar-sweetened drinks have been in the rise raising health concerns. The national analysis data showed that, from 2007-2008 the consumption of sugary drinks was at 73% of adults, 77% of teens, 66% of children and 50% of adults consumed sugary drinks. The production of sugary drinks was at its peak in 2004 such that there was enough drinks for child, woman and man to drink in an average of twenty per day. As at the present the existing products are estimated at, 664 with various branding estimated at 61 and the total sales per year for the products are estimated at $29 billion. However, since the onset of the campaign Americans in general are realizing the dangers of the sugary drinks the fate of consumption is reducing. As according to a survey carried in 2010, the median intake of sugary drinks by children is two per week and a mean of six per week. The interpretation being that a very small number of children drink more that average sugary drinks weekly. The general statistical decrease of sugary drinks intake as from 1999-2000 to 2009-2010 is 30% for the adolescents and 23% for grown-ups. Despite this decrease, the 2009-2010 statistics indicate that these drinks contribute 7% of the daily calories intake for adults and 8% per day intake for youth. This represents a recognizable amount of empty calories.
The future of every nation is its young population and anything that serves to undermine their effectiveness is detrimental to the nation. California realized the detrimental effects of obesity and other subsidiary diseases to its future population and drafted a bill that holds the future of California children. The California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) decided to take the opportunity to advocate for the Senate Bill 622 (Monning) under the name CA’s Sweetened Beverage Tax and Children’s Health Promotion Fund. The health problems expected to be addressed by the bill is reduction of cases of obesity among California people and more specifically the children. The bill is also expected to contribute a significant amount of money expected to cater for health issues of Children with obesity problems. The money is expected to raise $1.7 billion annually for children health promotion fund (Lobstein, 2013).
The SB 622 is expected to tax sweetened beverages at $0.01 one cent per fluid once. The identified drinks include soda, energy drinks, ice teas, juice drinks, sport drinks, soft drinks and fortified waters in addition to other non-alcoholic drinks that having an averaged 25 calories of added sweetener per 12 ounces. The SB 622 also exempts some beverages from taxation. The exempted drinks include weight reduction drinks, infant formula, water to which no caloric sweeteners have added medical food, milk or milk products and any beverage containing 50% of natural vegetable and natural fruits juices or combination of thereof. The excise duty is expected to be paid by the beverage distributors distributing bottled or concentrate beverages in California. The evaluation of the bill is to be done by the California University, which is expected to write a report by 1 July 2022. The report is to be written to the legislature and it should constitute the description of the outcome and process performance of the SB 622. The funds as estimated at $1.7 billion annually are to be distributed as follows:
- 20% for prevention of childhood obesity at state level based on evidence, children’s dental health and education campaigns and promotion. The funding is supposed to be made to the CA Dept of public health.
- 35% for recreation programs and parks, farmers market, community gardens and education. The allocations are based on any other evidence available at the local childhood prevention programs and the funding is supposed to be made to the local health departments in contact with community organizations.
- For early monitoring, prevention of obesity based on evidence will be allocated 10% of the collections. The amount will also cater for weight management interventions in the medical setting, physical education for patients and healthy eating. The funding is directed to department of public health.
- Nutrition education is allocated 35% and it will cater for measures aimed at providing healthy foods at schools, strategies aimed at healthy eating habits including physical education and physical activities at secondary and elementary schools. The superintendent of public instructions will be the recipient of the funding (Velten, 2013).
The promoters of the bill will include all the health organizations, health hospitals, private health organizations, hospitals, the ministry of public health in the Californian government. The organizations and corporate will ensure that the bill is promoted through provision of and availability of clean, free and safe water. This makes the Californians especially children to take a lot of water instead of taking beverages containing sugar. The water supplied will replace the supply of sweeteners. In schools where the sweeteners were previously supplied will ensure the supply of water instead. The corporate organizations will also promote the bill through marketing of water instead of marketing of sweeteners. The corporations will eliminate all marketing activities, which promote the sale of sweeteners. The corporations will eliminate all the activities geared towards the sale of sweeteners. Such activities include the promotions and logos of the product (Crawford, 2005). Through abolition of such activities, these corporate will promote the enactment of the bill.
The private organizations will promote the bill through campaigning for abolishing activities associated with the production, distribution and sale of sweeteners. Through campaigning, the NGOs will teach the people the importance of keeping away from the sugary foods. Sugary foods contain many sugars. The sugars have many health hazards. The hazards rise in sugar levels. The rise in sugar lead to such health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, tooth problems especially in children. When people consume such sugary food, they end being obese (Omar, 2009). The obesity will risk the life of an individual, as it will block the veins of an individual thus leading to arteriosclerosis. Through campaigning and teaching people the importance of such using less sugary foods and beverage, the NGOs will promote the people.
The Californian ministry of health will promote the bill through campaigning for taking of less sugary foods. The ministry through the department of public health will campaign for the abolition of sweeteners and sugary beverages. The ministry of health will visit schools where the sweetener is mostly sold. It will also visit the sweeteners and manufacturing companies to know how these companies make the sweeteners and beverages. They will also advise those companies on the hazards associated with too much sugar and how those companies can reduce that sugar. Alternatively, the companies can replace the sugary food by natural sugars, which have fewer effects on the health of a human being. The ministry also campaigns and teaches students in schools about the effects of consuming too much sugar, as they are the heavy consumers of sweeteners. The ministry also will teach mothers on the importance of breast-feeding their children instead of using sugary food and milk to feed their children, which expose them to health danger (Omar, 2009).
The government also promotes the bill through channeling of finances to be used in implementing the policy. The finances can be used for campaigns towards the adoption and implementation of the bill by the government health centers. The government also sets out policies, which strengthen the abolition of sweeteners in the market. The policies set will govern the manufacture, distribution and sale of beverages, which are sugar free and thus less hazardous to the life of individual consumers. The government will also strengthen the adoption and implementation of bill by all government organs. It will also ensure that the sale of beverages conforms to this bill (Velten, 2013).
The other promoters of the bill include institute of medicine of the National Academics. This will campaign for the abolition and the adoption of health friendly activities such as physical activities and consumption of natural food sugar for the reduction of obesity and overweight. National Association of County and City Health officials in which the local governments will supply free water safe for drinking in public places to make people to drink water instead of taking sugar-sweetened beverages. The recreational facilities will also promote the bill through provision of clean and safe water in the recreational places. The California pan-Ethnic Health Network will also promote the bill through sponsorship of programmes, which lead to less consumption of sweetened beverages and increase intake of less sugary foods. The CA centre for public advocacy will also promote the bill through campaigning and appealing to the public to adopt health eating habits and doing physical activities, which may reduce health problems (Lobstein, 2013). The American Heart Association –Western States Affiliate promotes the bill through campaigns and teachings on the importance of health eating habits and the importance of exercises to reduce heart related diseases.
When the bill is passed, it will promote health statuses of the people of California. As it is known that more than half of the population of California, especially the adults and youths suffer from obesity and overweight. Therefore, passing the bill will encourage people to adopt health lifestyles, which minimize the use of sugary foods, which in turn will lead to reduction in obese and overweight individuals (Crawford, 2005). Overweight also lead to diabetic diseases. By introducing the bill, diabetic disease will reduce. As it is known that in California, the people who were diagnonised with diabetes rose from 2003 to 2009 by nearly 29%.The passing of the bill also will lead to reduction in obese and overweight related diseases such as heart diseases and the cardiovascular diseases. Arteriosclerosis is associated with overweight and thus passing the bill will reduce such health danger.
The hospitals, the government the ministry of health and the NGOs are for the bill. These groups try to promote the health of the people of California so that they can reduce the health problems. For example, through the campaign from public health eating habits and healthy promoting activities, the health institution will promote health concerns among the people of California and thus health problems associated with sugary food will reduce.
Although the bill is beneficial to the public health sector, some other people will oppose the bill due to their personal interests. The company’s manufacturing the sweetened beverages will definitely oppose the bill. This is because they will consider the bill as detrimental to their businesses (Velten, 2013). Taking the beverages heavily will make the companies to increase the price-sweetened beverages. This in return will affect the sale of such products, which eventually affect their profits. The economists also oppose the bill as the bill may have negative impacts on the country’s economy. Business people dealing with the distribution and sale of sweetened beverages also oppose the bill.
There are consequences associated with the passing of the bill. If the bill is passed, it may affect the Californian economy of the country. This is because taxing the sweetened beverages will affect the company’s producing the beverages (Velten, 2013). These companies normally generate revenue to the government through paying of taxes. When these companies close down thus affect the country’s GDP. Other consequences will be associated with the misappropriation of funds. Not all groups vested with money for campaigns will use the money as expected. Other groups may just agree that they are ready to promote the bill yet their targets are the funds.
I recommend the passing of the bill since passing of the bill will benefit people health wise. Since there has been an increase in the diabetic diagnosis since 2003 to 2009 by 29%, this will reduce by 10% if the bill is passed. The number of obese children in California State will reduce by 7%, as people will adopt health life styles. Diseases associated with the sugary intake will reduce by 6% also. I also recommend that the government to be keen in entrusting the funds for campaign to different groups to reduce the misappropriation of funds since they may have different personal interests.
References
Lobstein, T., Brinsden, H., Landon, J., Kraak, V., Musicus, A., & Macmullan, J. (2013). INFORMAS and advocacy for public health nutrition and obesity prevention. Obesity Reviews, 14(S1), 150-156.
Velten, E. (2013) Senate Bill 622 (Monning). Retrieved from http://www.publichealthadvocacy.org/_PDFs/legislation/SB622_SweetenedBeverageTax-FactSheet.pdf
Crawford, D., & Jeffery, R. W. (2005). Obesity prevention and public health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Omar, H. A. (2009). Obesity and adolescence: A public health concern. New York: Nova Biomedical Books.
