The Real Bears – The Truth About Soda

The Real Bears – The Truth About Soda

Wed 10 Oct 2012

Story by The Food Revolution Team
 

Today, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) launched ‘The Real Bears’ to tell the unhappy truth about soda.

“It wasn't so bad when soft drinks were the occasional treat. But now sugary drinks are the number one source of calories in the American diet. With one third of America overweight and another third obese, it's a wonder anyone is still swallowing what the soda companies are selling.”

Research has proven a direct relationship between consumption of sugary drinks and an increase in obesity, which promotes diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many other health problems, and ‘The Real Bears’ documents this happening to a family of 4.

The Truth About Soda



‘The Real Bears’ video, directed by Alex Bogusky and featuring an original song by singer songwriter Jason Mraz, shows us just some of the problems associated with the amount of soda consumed on a regular basis by families today:

• Soda and other sugary drinks are the largest source of calories in our diet (2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans).
• An extra sugary drink each day increases a child’s risk of obesity by 60% (The Lancet, 20010)
• One or two sugary drinks a day increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by about 25% (Diabetes Care 2010)
• About half of mean with diabetes will experience erectile dysfunction (Current Doabetes Report, 2005)
• The sugars and acids in soda promote tooth decay (Surgeons General’s Report on Oral health, 2000)
• Diabetes in the cause of more than 60,000 amputations a year (U.S. Centers for Disease Control)

Check out the video at www.therealbears.org and share it with your friends, family, colleagues and social networks today!

38 Pounds Of Sugar A Year

Astonishingly, it has been reported that Americans consume about 38 pounds of sugar from sugary drinks each year, putting them at a much greater risk of the above health defects. The American Heart Association urges that Americans should consume 60% less sugary drinks by 2020 in order to reverse these health trends and help create a healthier America (NCHS Data Brief, Number 71, August 2011).

Get more facts on soda and citations at Soda Facts 101.

How Much Soda Do You Consume?

Do you know how much soda you drink? Are you worried about the health impacts it might have on you and your family? We want to know what you think about soda, how you think we can reduce consumption of it, and what you think about the NYC soda cap. Let us know by posting on our Food Revolution Community page, or tweeting @foodrev.

Two Weeks To Go Until Food Day 2012



Two weeks today is the second annual Food Day – a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food organised by our friends at the CSPI. Will you be joining the CSPI and thousands of people all across the USA by eating real on October 24?

There are already over 1,400 events on the map so if you haven’t already be sure to register yours here, check out the Pour One Out campaign to get rid of your soda this Food Day, and score your diets’ impact on your health, the environment and farming in the Eat Real Quiz.

Let’s eat real and dump the unhappy!

The Food Revolution Team