Marin healthcare providers see the impact of excessive calorie consumption every day, across the age spectrum. Diabetes and obesity are model conditions for partnership between public health and clinical medicine because most cases are both preventable and curable. Health practitioners in Marin County are working to limit the harmful consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (soda sweetened with sugar, corn syrup, or other caloric sweeteners including sweetened juices, sports and energy drinks).
According to the CDC, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is a major driver of the obesity epidemic. Over the past decade, per capita intake of calories from sugar-sweetened beverages has increased by nearly 30% nationally, partly due to marketing strategies targeted to children and adolescents.
This summer, Marin County Public Health, supported by a resolution from the county Board of Supervisors, will again be promoting the “Soda Free Summer.” The Soda Free Summer includes measures to educate residents on how to read labels for the amount of sugar in beverages and how to make healthier drinks with water, fresh fruit and herbs. “Rethink Your Drink” events will be held through the summer at a variety of community-based organizations and summer programs for youth.
Health care providers play a vital role in reinforcing healthy eating and active living messages in each encounter. Combined with upstream interventions like the Soda Free Summer, we can begin to reverse the growing burden of obesity as a more integrated health system.