Sugar Sweetened Beverages and Kids’ Meals
First 5 Yolo Fact Sheet
Childhood Obesity: A Health Crisis for Local Children
California, and the nation, is experiencing a childhood obesity epidemic. In Davis, one
quarter of all children in grades 5, 7 and 9 are overweight or obese. In 2012, more than
half of all 5th, 7th, and 9th graders failed to meet the fitness standards.
Sugar Sweetened Beverages: Sugary drinks play a central and unique role in the
obesity epidemic. Studies have found a significant link between sugary drink
consumption and weight gain in children.
• Soda and sugary drinks are the single largest source of calories in children’s
diets, and provide nearly half of kids’ added sugar intake.
• 41% of children (ages 2–11 years) and 62% of adolescents (ages 12–17 years)
in California drink at least one soda or other sugar-sweetened beverage every
day.
• A child’s risk for obesity increases an average of 60 percent with every additional
daily serving of soda.
• Containing almost 16 teaspoons of sugar in every 20-ounce serving, sweetened
beverages are the largest single source of added sugar in the American diet.
• Marketers spend close to $500 million dollars a year to reach children and
adolescents with messages about sugary drinks, more than they spend on any
other category.
• Scientific evidence consistently supports the conclusion that drinking soda and
other sugar-sweetened beverages increases a person’s risk of being overweight
or obese. As a result, reducing the amount of sugar-sweetened beverages
people drink is an important strategy to reverse the obesity epidemic in California
and across the country.
• These beverages are the single leading contributor to the obesity epidemic. They
have contributed 43 percent of the new calories that Americans consume from
1977-2001.
• Our bodies absorb the sugar much faster when we consume liquids as compared
to solids, raising blood sugar levels in just 30 minutes. At the same time, since
our bodies do not notice added calories from liquids we don’t fill up.
• The latest research shows that drinking 2 cans of soda a day for just two weeks
leads to increases in cholesterol and other contributors to heart disease and
diabetes.
A DIET HIGH IN SUGAR PUTS YOU AT INCREASED RISK OF:
• Cardiovascular disease
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
• Overweight and obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
• A decline in the intake of essential nutrients (vitamins A, E, C, all B vitamins,
magnesium, iron, zinc and calcium).
Kids’ Meals and Sugary Drinks:
Many cities are enacting policies to increase access to healthy beverages for children,
such as adopting standards for beverages provided in parks, recreational facilities, and
city-sponsored programs. Restaurants serve as another important venue within cities
where changing local policies on healthy beverages could contribute to the fight against
childhood obesity.
Children consume nearly 20% of their daily calories from fast food and sit-down
restaurants, many of which offer kids’ meals that include a beverage. The beverages
most frequently offered with kids’ meals are sugary drinks, such as soda and sweetened
fruit drinks. These sugary drinks increase a child’s risk for obesity and associated
chronic health conditions.
Drinks that are included or offered with kids’ meals are called the “default beverage”.
Studies demonstrate that people are more likely to select the default beverage option
offered with kids’ meals rather than request an alternative. Establishing healthy
beverage defaults such as low-fat milk or water is likely to increase the consumption of
healthy beverages among children who eat kids’ meals. Several national chains
including Subway, Chipotle, Arby’s, and Panera have stopped including sugary drinks in
their kids’ meals. McDonalds recently announced that it will soon stop listing soda as
an option on menu boards for its Happy Meals.
What Cities Can Do:
Cities can promote good health for their youngest residents and support parents in
purchasing healthy beverages for their children by adopting the following standards for
beverages sold as part of restaurant kids’ meals:
•
•
Offer water or low-fat milk as part of a kids’ meal unless a customer specifically
requests an alternate beverage.
Display water and low-fat milk prominently on menus and menu boards with
information about kids’ meals.
In Davis, one-fifth of the 122 restaurants offer kids’ meals that include a sugarsweetened beverage as the default drink, while only four offer healthier choices such as
low-fat milk, water and 100 percent fruit juice as the default beverage choice in the kids’
meals.
The following Davis restaurants include a sugary drink with their kids’ meals:
Applebees
Beach Hut Deli
Bistro 33
Black Bear Diner
Café Bernardo
Carl’s Junior
De Vere’s Irish Pub
Del Taco
Habit Burger
Jack in the Box
Lampost Pizza
Paesano’s
Panda Express
Plutos
Round Table Pizza
Sudwerk
Taco Bell
Togo’s