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The August 12 article (Losing the battle of the bulge) raises some important concerns about the impact of obesity but the author is incorrect about the escalation and effect of soft drink consumption.

In fact, soft drinks contribute less than 2.5% of a Canadian's average daily calorie consumption. The volume of regular (i.e. caloric) soft drinks sold in Canada has dropped over 21% from 1999 to 2008, with annual per capita consumption down from 90 litres in 1999 to 66 litres in 2008.

Obesity is a serious and complex problem and not the result of consuming any one food or beverage. In fact, no single food or food ingredient can be held responsible for weight gain. The human body does not differentiate the source of calories consumed to produce energy in active people or store them as fat in inactive people and people become overweight when the number of calories consumed exceeds the number of calories expended, not because of the types of food they eat. The fact remains that raising the prices on certain products does not make people healthier, but a balanced diet and exercise does.

Education focused on encouraging moderation and a healthy, active lifestyle, not taxation is the key to improving public health and to addressing issues like obesity. This is something the beverage industry supports and encourages by helping consumers make appropriate choices.  We do this in three ways - by providing easy access to calorie and nutrition information, promoting physical activity and beverage innovation. The industry produces a full range of low and no calorie beverage choices for the thirsty consumer on the go.
 
Refreshments Canada is the national trade association representing the broad spectrum of brands and companies that manufacture and distribute the majority of non-alcoholic liquid refreshment beverages consumed in Canada.

For more information please contact:

Justin Sherwood
President
Refreshments Canada

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