1. “WE MARKET SODA AND ENERGY DRINK TO CHILDREN BUT THEY ARENT FOR ANYONE”
City of San Francisco filed a lawsuit on Monday alleging that Monster Energy is marketing its caffeinated beverage to minors as young as six. The lawsuit follows a decision by the Food and Drug Administration last week to investigate the effects that food and beverages high in caffeine have on young people.
Sodas have no essential nutrients for kids. Period.
2. IF YOU HAVE TEENS, PAY ATTENTION: CAFFEINE AND ALCOHOL ARE A DEADLY COMBINATION
The number of people showing up at emergency rooms reporting symptoms like racing heartbeat, seizures and headache after drinking energy drinks soared from 10,000 to more than 20,000 from 2007 to 2011, according to the federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Most of those visits were made by teens or young adults.
3. SODA IS BIG BUSINESS AND THEY ARE A HEALTH RISK FOR KIDS
Rising consumption of sugary drinks has been a major contributor to the obesity epidemic, according to a 2012 report published by the Institute of Medicine. And too much sugar consumption is one of the most direct causes of Type 2 diabetes. Drinking one to two sugary drinks per day increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 26%, a 2010 study published by the Diabetes Journal.
Between 2005 and 2009, as public-health advocates were making a big push to tax soda at the national level, lobbying spending by the soda industry rose more than 30-fold, to $40.3 million in 2009. That spending effort contributed to the defeat of the proposals at the national level.
4. DIET FOOD AREN’T HEALTHY
One recent study by French researchers published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found a strong correlation between diet drinks and increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. when consumed in equal quantities as normal sodas, artificially sweetened drinks were associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes.
5. CAFFEINE IS THE NEW ADDICTIVE ADDITIVE
One 16-ounce can of Monster Energy, one of the most popular energy drinks on the market, has around 160 milligrams of caffeine (vs. 38 milligrams in a 12-ounce can of Pepsi). A grande (16-ounce) Starbucks coffee has 330 milligrams of caffeine, and a 16.5-ounce Panera frozen mocha has 267 milligrams, according to the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.
6. PACKAGING SIZE IS INCREASING WITH TIME
So what do you think it does to your waist size?
7. “WE HAVE DEEP CONNECTIONS AND WE USE THEM”
In 2009, Coca-Cola paid $600,000 to the American Academy of Family Physicians to help create a website advocating healthy diets. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house J
