Monday, January 11, 2010

ABA - Soda Strategy

Very busy day today - no time to study or track things down, but alas, a little news story from this morning gives me points to pontificate

A public service announcement that is being broadcast on You Tube is grossing some people out. The PSA is meant to discourage people from drinking soda. The video is being used in New York which is usually on the cutting edge with these types of things. They were aggressive about smoking bans, getting TFAs out of foods, ordering calorie content charts and now - confronting the beverage industry. Much of what happens in NY trickles down, so I am optimistic.

The video shows a kid drinking a soda and gobs of wet sugar run out of his mouth and down his face. I can't remember the important health message that followed - something like soda or sugar makes you fat.

The American Beverage Association, a trade group for soda makers, is upset about this commercial. They say that it is true that sugary beverages are not without disadvantages, but that they also offer low and no calorie choices. They propose a less offensive means of suggesting people limit their intake of soda. Then they point out that ALL of their products are fat free.

Yup, that is the part that got me. Hello? Not having fat doesn't change a thing. And comparing sugar to fat is ridiculous. There is no "good sugar bad sugar" debate, it is ALL bad sugar. We have healthy promoting, in fact, life sustaining, good fats, but there is no amount of sugar that the body needs. [not referring to that which occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables].


No comments: