You can almost always find a sugary snack drink wherever you go. They’re everywhere—vending machines, restaurants, gas stations, events—and they’re advertised to influence a whole line of consumers. Sodas, energy drinks, and sweetened coffees may seem harmless, but their impact on our health is quite the opposite. If the United States takes improving public health seriously by limiting sugary drinks, a vast populations’ health would improve, both physically and mentally.
To many, it can be surprising how much sugar these drinks contain. People know they are sweet, but do they understand what the sugar content in their drink really is? All it takes is one bottle of soda to exceed a doctor’s daily sugar intake recommendation. These drinks differ from food because they don’t provide us with long lasting energy and a full feeling, making it very easy to consume too much without even realizing. People handling sports, jobs, school, and more may think grabbing a sugary drink will give them a quick energy boost, but realistically, it can lead to weight gain, skin problems, crashes, and even more long term issues.
These negative after-effects go even further past tiredness later in the day. Sugary drinks are also closely connected to tooth decay, type two diabetes, heart disease, and most commonly, obesity. When unhealthy habits form in high school, they often follow people for the rest of their lives. More than ever, teenagers are being diagnosed with diabetes; many struggle with preventable health problems.
Limiting sugary drinks wouldn’t need to mean banning them in general, but even reducing where they are marketed, or encouraging healthy drinking habits could positively influence the U.S. we live in today. Instead, moving them from schools, labeling the packaging, or increasing the price of them to block overconsumption could all be used to build towards a society with better health. Places like schools already limit certain junk foods and other unhealthy options, so why not sugary drinks as well? There are even healthier alternatives that could be provided—vitamin waters, protein shakes, electrolytes, and even more.
Several critics argue that limiting sweet beverages could interfere with personal freedom. But the overall goal isn’t to simply control people, it’s to help them and avert from worsening health issues everywhere.
Outside of physical health, these drinks also heavily impact people’s mental health. Constantly having large volumes of sugar entering your body and leading to crashes will affect your motivation and mood. The weight gain that can be caused by overconsumption of these beverages can also cause body image issues where you might not even realize the root cause. I mean it’s a drink, a liquid, how could it be what’s causing you to look this way?
Sugary drinks aren’t only a personal choice. They’re a collective influence on health conditions for all ages. Growing from a kid to an adult, you have a lot of time to ruin your health. If the U.S. helps us eliminate excessive sugar consumption, it will be easier to maintain national health.
