Soda Tax Doesn’t Fix Obesity Epidemic
by Lauren Brown
Soft drink taxes may have slowed consumption of soda but have yet to make an impact on the obesity epidemic in the United States. Researchers have found that taxation has only a minor effect on Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measurement based on weight and height. Soft drink taxation had the most BMI impact among people with lower incomes, females, and middle-aged and older people. But even in these groups, the effects on obesity were very small. Overall, soft drink taxation in most states is not effective in substantially changing adult consumption.
