Karen's been away playing grandma to her grandson in Oregon so I've been slacking on my childhood obesity team duties! But thanks to Russ Robbins for sending me an interesting article on a study done through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (the same RWJF that is supporting our grant project).
The authors set out to study whether taxing soft drinks or restricting access to vending machines made any difference in the childhood obesity epidemic. Here's their basic conclusion:
"One of the largest drivers of the current obesity epidemic is thought to be excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Some have proposed vending machine restrictions and taxing soft drinks to curb children’s consumption of soft drinks; to a large extent, these policies have not been evaluated empirically.We examine these policies using two nationally representative data sets and find no evidence that, as currently practiced, either is effective at reducing children’s weight. We conclude by outlining changes that may increase their effectiveness, such as implementing comprehensive restrictions on access to soft drinks in schools and imposing higher tax rates than are currently in place in many jurisdictions."
If you'd like to read the full article e-mail me at wiltoncoc@snet.net and I will happily send it along!
Get out and enjoy a local park today - it's the perfect day for that!
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