Potter 1

Kendall Potter
Dr. Sarah Lincoln
Sustainability
May 20, 2015

Debate: In the Defense of Soda

Simply put, banning soda sales at PSU would not be effective in
reducing soda consumption across campus and would not improve
student health. In fact, this attempt would most likely backfire. Several
studies have proven that taxing, restricting and banning soda does not
produce the desired affect.

In the Journal of Adolescent Health, Lisa Powell cross-examined

the BMIs of students who live in areas where soda is taxed and

not.
The data was collected from the Monitoring the Future (MTF)

database.
Collected from 1997-2006, looking at individuals data from
12,000-15,000 high school seniors along with 30,000 8th and 10th

graders across 420 schools.

This nationwide survey showed that the results did not reveal
any statistically significant associations between the tax
measures and adolescent weight among the full sample.
(Powell)

Potter 2
Taxing soda clearly is a failed attempt to conquer obesity, why
would banning soda be any better?

Daniel Taber conducted an experiment comparing overall

consumption of soda and accessibility in schools.

From 2006-2007 State Government put a policy in place where

soda accessibility in middle schools were banned.

This was apart of the Bridging the Gap research program where
over 40 states 5th and 8th graders were surveyed on drug and

alcohol use and on their eating and exercise habits.

Taber focused on three groups of children in schools; group one
banned all sugary drinks (soda, juice, sports drinks), group two

banned only soda specifically and group three had no ban.

Between the three groups of middle scholars, 85% of them had

drunk soda that week, regardless if they had a soda ban or not.
Even more interesting is the obesity rates among these three
groups; The group with no soda ban had 22.4% obesity, the
group that only banned soda had a 22.3% obesity rate, and the
percent obese in schools that banned all sugary drinks was

22.6%, the highest percent of all three. (Powell)

Although this is seems like a small percent, in a survey group of

45,000 kids, 1% is 450 individual children. (Powell)

Based of this evidence, it is fair to say banning soda in schools
does not cut down on consumption (85% across board drank
soda that week, all categories), nor does it positively influence
the health of students, it actually showed a higher obesity rate in
students that had banned all sugary drinks in school.

Potter 3

Daniel Taber also analyzed data from NYPANS, National Youth

Physical Activity and Nutrition Study, a nation wide survey of 9th-

12th graders.
Taber distinguished two groups, one where vending machines

were present and one where they were not in the schools.
It turns out that in schools that did not have vending machines
students had 5.80 average servings of soda per week, compared
to 5.27 servings for those who did have access to vending

machines.
No access to soda actually increased soda consumption by over

half of a serving.
Additionally, non- vending machine schools had more students
consume soda every day than schools with vending machines.
(27.9% vs 23.9% )
Taking vending machines and soda sales out of schools would not

benefit the health of students or help reduce the amount they drink,
it may in fact, do the opposite.
The entire purpose of a soda ban in a school is to reduce the
amount of soda consumed and in turn, benefit the health of
students. However, studies show that there is not a positive effect
on student health and even an increased consumption when schools
cut soda sales.

Potter 4

Works Cited
Powell, Lisa M. "Associations between State-level Soda Taxes and Adolescent Body Mass
Index."Http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X09001062. N.p.,
Sept. 2009. Web.
Taber, Daniel R., PhD. "Banning All Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Middle Schools." JAMA
Network. N.p., Mar. 2012. Web. <http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?
articleid=1107716&resultClick=3#poa15088t3>.
Taber, Daniel R., PhD. "How State Taxes and Policies Targeting Soda Consumption Modify the
Association between School Vending Machines and Student Dietary Behaviors: A CrossSectional Analysis." PLOS ONE. N.p., 1 Aug. 2014. Web.
<http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObject.action?
uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0098249&representation=PDF>.