September 27th, 2010

Obesity has become a public health crisis in Philadelphia.

In 2008, 64% of adults and 57% of children were overweight or obese.

In some Philadelphia neighborhoods, almost 70% of children are overweight or obese. Obesity and being overweight are major risk factors for heart disease, many forms of cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Many studies have shown a link between drinking sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and obesity.

A SSB is any non-alcoholic beverage with an added sugar-based, caloric sweetener, including sucrose, fructose, glucose, and other sugars (including high fructose corn syrup). This includes, but is not limited to: soda, non-100%-fruit drinks, sports drinks, flavored water, energy drinks, and pre-sweetened tea.

Philadelphians drink about 60 million gallons of SSBs each year (about ½ liter or 170 calories per person per day). SSBs have a lot of calories, but they have no nutritional value. SSBs do not make people feel full, so they end up drinking more calories than they need.

Sweet beverages can change children’s taste preferences for the rest of their lives, causing less sweet, healthier foods to be unappealing.

Read more at: http://www.phila.gov/health/Services/Serv_HealthyPhila.html