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A 17-year study conducted by Barry Popkin from the University of North Carolina is enough to ruffle many feathers.  The study verified much of what we already know - that there are more overweight people in the world than not. But another arm of his study is what has the capability to feather-ruffle.

Get this...  Mr. Popkin also noted in the study that China's obesity factor went from zero to almost 25% over the course of the 17-year study, citing the Westernerized diet as the culprit with grains being tossed to the side and fats replacing the empty spot.  Mr. Popkin also cited that sugary drinks added to the obesity factor, noting sugary drinks were a root cause of obesity in Australia.  Popkin goes on to suggest a 5¢ PER GRAM of sugar tax on sweet drinks, justifying his suggestion by comparing it to the tobacco tax that was embraced in the anti-smoking campaign several years ago.

This knee-jerk reaction obviously wasn't thought-out - at least in my opinion.  First, when the tobacco tax was jacked-up, it effected ALL individuals who experienced the ill-effects of tobacco.  It wasn't as if there were non-smokers buying tobacco and setting it on their counter to look at.  On the other hand, the underweight to the overweight purchase sugary drinks.  Popkin's line of thinking would punish all, not just the individuals who are directly impacted by the sugary drinks in an unhealthy fashion.  

By the way, we're not just talking sodas here - as sugary drinks also include juices, sport's drinks and powdered drink mixes.

And we can't forget that we still live in a free society rather than a sugar-free society.  If an individual chooses to choose a sugary drink, they have that option - and they know what is in the drinks.  After all, that's why labels were created. And unlike tobacco, sugary drinks are not addictive in the same manner as tobacco. In having the personal experience of seeing a smoker go through withdrawal symptoms, I assure you that these symptoms cannot compare even slightly to the sugary-drink withdrawal experience.

Here are just a few more problems with Popkin's proposed sugar gram tax:

- Obesity and weight gain is often the result of a lack of money to purchase healthier foods.  A pack of $1 cookies might better fit into a tight budget over a bag of apples at $3.00 per bag or $1.69 per pound.  

- With fat weighing in at about 120 calories per Tablespoon, it appears to be a more likely candidate for weight gain than sugar which weighs in at 800 calories per cup.  Shall we tax fat grams, too?

- The drink choice of many overweight individuals isn't sugary drinks at all - rather diet sodas.  Perhaps sugary sodas promote weight gain due to calorie-content and the lighting of the need for sugar cravings, but in those overweight individuals who embrace diet soda over sugary dinks, how can sugary drinks be the cause of their overweight problems?  Two and two make six.

- Our forefathers ate up to 6,000 calories per day when plowing the fields on the plains of America - and they weren't an ounce overweight.  This raises the burning question of the leading contributor to weight gain: Food or Inactivity?

- Taxing sugar is impractical because sugar of one type or another is in most of the foods that we eat.  Taxing sugar would also risk raising sugar prices as well as negatively impact the sugar industry.

- Sugar isn't an inherently unhealthy thing like tobacco.  Over-consumption of sugar can be.

In Summary:

How much tax would be tacked on a sugary cola-based soda?  The USDA cites 2.75 grams of sugar PER OUNCE  which translates to about 15¢ per ounce.  Based on this information, that 12-ounce regular cola would cost $1.65 more.  If the base price of the 12-ounce soda is $1.00, then the soda would cost $2.65 with Mr. Popkin's suggested sugar tax tacked on.

While health studies related to obesity are important, placing the focus solely on food consumption can produce inaccurate results.  So many times, we forget about the poor, the needy, ethnicity, the gene pool, modern day stress and other factors that trigger overeating.  I would imagine that there are many poor shoppers who long to buy that bag of apples but all they have money for is the $1.00 bag of cookies.

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