Knowing that they ll have to jog for 50 minutes to burn off one soda may keep teenagers from buying such beverages. A recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that, when a sign stating the amount of jogging time required to burn off one soda was placed on a drink cooler, inner-city teenagers in four neighborhood stores were only half as likely to buy a sugary beverage.
But many here at ACSH wonder why there is such a focus on sodas at the expense of all other types of food and drinks. Why aren t they also saying how long it would take to burn off the calories in a smoothie? asks ACSH's Dr. Ruth Kava. And what about all of the other calories these teens are consuming? This war on sugar-sweetened beverages ignores everything else that a person eats. Young people who are trying to control their weight should be concerned about their diets in totality all of the calories they ingest. Saying that some food is healthy does not cancel the calories it contains.
ACSH s Alyssa Pelish notes that it would be interesting to know if the kids who skipped a soda actually ended up reducing their overall caloric intake. Even if a person avoids buying one soda, they may compensate by increasing their consumption of other calorie-rich foods or drinks.