H.L. Mencken said, “For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.”  The way the public health advocates and legislators are trying to regulate our way out of the obesity challenge is a good example of what the American cultural critic was talking about.

When it comes to misguided regulation on sugar-sweetened beverages whether it’s a soda tax, a soda ban, warning label, you name it, it has been proposed by lawmakers across the United States.  Michael Marlow, an economics professor at California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo, published a study in the spring 2015 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons on how the government is overreaching on obesity control.

“Government interventions to combat obesity are based on pervasive, popular myths unsupported by scientific evidence” Marlow states in this piece.

Marlow concludes that, "Government overreach on obesity control is a recipe for expanding government with inflated promises unlikely to be fulfilled…Meanwhile, taxpayer resources are allocated to poorly informed theories based on myths that are often developed within laboratories insulated from real-world interactions of profit-minded suppliers and weight-conscious consumers."

We agree. Taxes and bans don’t make people healthy.  It’s by coming together within our communities that we can have a meaningful and lasting impact.  Just take a look at our industry’s initiatives -  Balance Calories, Clear on Calories and School Beverages Guidelines – that help consumers make informed decisions. Our member companies are empowering consumers to make choices that are right for them by providing clear calorie information, and more lower-calorie, smaller-portion options.

For more information on these and other industry initiatives, check out DeliveringChoices.org.  And click here to read Marlow’s study.