USDA: Soda Tax Will Help America Lose Weight and Get Healthy
USDA economists have just released a report that says a tax on high calorie soda pop will take a chunk out of America's flabby belly. They report;
A tax-induced 20-percent price increase on caloric sweetened beverages could cause an average reduction of 37 calories per day, or 3.8 pounds of body weight over a year, for adults and an average of 43 calories per day, or 4.5 pounds over a year, for children. Given these reductions in calorie consumption, results show an estimated decline in adult overweight prevalence (66.9 to 62.4 percent) and obesity prevalence (33.4 to 30.4 percent), as well as the child at-risk-for-overweight prevalence (32.3 to 27.0 percent) and the overweight prevalence (16.6 to 13.7 percent).
This chart sums up the potential impact.
h/t The Atlantic.
