France is taking severe steps to tackle the persistent rise in the national obesity rate. After the 2004 ban of vending machines from schools and the 2011 limit on the serving of french fries in school cafeterias, the French government has now imposed a "soda tax" on all fast food joints.
The new law debars restaurants from offering unlimited free refills of sodas or sugary drinks. The law will be effective immediately and states that its aim is to "limit, especially among the young," the risk of getting obese and becoming a diabetes patient.
The law comes after the World Health Organization urged countries to impose a tax on all sodas and sugary drinks to control the increase rate of obesity in their countries. French citizens, on an average, are less overweight compared to other European and American citizens.
The Troubled Relationship Between Obesity And Soda
According to a Sugary Drinks and Obesity Fact Sheet published by Harvard, the consumption of 20 ounces of soda can be compared to eating 15 to 18 teaspoons of sugar with a calorie intake of 240 and upwards. In this context, 64 ounces of fountain soda can have up to 700 calories.
Soda consumption does not make people feel full and they go on to eat more. However, at the end of the day, calorie consumption through soda remains the same no matter how they feel.
Many health conditions rise due to obesity, namely heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer, some of which are causes of preventable death.
Should US Follow France's Footsteps?
The Harvard fact sheet also states that one out of three children and two out of every three adults are obese or overweight. The U.S. government spends approximately $190 billion in treating obesity-related health problems in the nation.
"A 20-year study on 120,000 men and women found that people who increased their sugary drink consumption by one 12-ounce serving per day gained more weight over time - on average, an extra pound every four years - than people who did not change their intake," states the fact sheet.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. childhood obesity is one of the most serious life risks plaguing children in the nation. It also states that 36.5 percent, which is more than one-third of U.S. adults, suffer from obesity.
The highest affected group by obesity are the non-Hispanic blacks with a 48.1 percent rate of obesity, followed by Hispanics with 42.5 percent, non-Hispanic whites (34.5 percent), and non-Hispanic Asians (37 percent).
If compared with other nations, the European Union obesity average is 15.9 percent, whereas in the United States it is 36.5 percent, according to the CDC.
Efforts To Control Obesity In The US
To control obesity risk in citizens, Philadelphia was the first major city to impose a tax on soda and other sugary drinks in 2017. A similar proposal made by New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was dismissed in 2013. The proposal demanded a ban on the sale of large sugary drinks in restaurants and other public venues.
Looking at the facts, it is crystal clear that the U.S. government has to take serious measures to control obesity rates in the country.
Let us know in the comments section what kind of measures you think the government should implement to tackle obesity in the United States.
Photo: Dano | Flickr
