The Negative Impact of Sugary Drinks on Students' Health

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Negative Impact of Sugary Drinks on Students’ Health
Introduction
Sugary drinks are some of the foods whose consumption has led to a rise in obesity cases in the US and around the world. An increase in signs of diabetes has been on increase among children according to statistics presented in a report by Mello, Pomeranz and Moran (595). The interpretation of these findings is that this is a national emergency that must be addressed with urgency. To address this issue, some laws have been adopted in the US that seeks to control the availability of sugary beverages in school settings. However, such policies have failed to succeed due to the resistance encountered from the soft drinks as well as reluctance by the government to address this issue (Mello, Pomeranz and Moran 595). This paper argues that sugary drinks should be banned from schools in the U.S as they are a major contributor to health risks for children.
Major contributor to health risks for children
Sugar sweetened beverages, including soda and fruit drinks have negative consequences to children's health which including decreased bone density caused by the high phosphate presence, headaches and loss of sleep that result from caffeine presence and dental decay caused by the acids and sugar in soda. Also encouraging lower consumption of sugary drinks is highly linked to reduced weight among overweight adolescents (Vartanian, Schwarts and Brownell, 668). This is one of the reasons why most Americans want them banned as they are a source of increased behavioral changes and fights in schools.
Government position on uplifting ban on sugary drinks in schools
The US government has various mechanisms at its disposal to constrain sugary drinks companies from selling harmful products to students especially in schools and colleges. Introduction of taxes and bans on substances policies to govern unhealthy foods and drink products is one way these problems can be approached. The government continues to allow lobbying and political pressure put by unhealthy food manufacturers on policy makers. This has diverted the sound interest of policy making aimed at protecting and promoting public health. Countries such as Denmark have in the past passed substantial tax on saturated fat products in 2014 and is currently considering to pass a sugar tax law that will discourage excessive consumption of saturated fats food and high sugar content drinks (Vartanian, Schwarts and Brownell 668). This is possible in the US, but the government still continues its reluctance in favor of the manufacturers.
Main cause on increased behavioral changes and fights
Increased violence, depression and suicidal thought among teens have been linked to the increased consumption of carbonated soft drinks. Various research studies being undertaken to examine the link between soft drink consumption and aggression and depression, behavior among US adolescents indicate that soft drink consumption is associated with a rage of undesirable conducts. According to the report presented by Kraak, teens who consu...