Have you ever thought about obesity in America and how to reduce it? Marlow and Shiers state in their viewpoint article: "Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta estimate that obesity now accounts for 9.1 percent of all medical spending, or $147 billion in 2008 ( Marlow and Shiers). » This means that almost ten percent, or $147 billion, of medical spending in the entire United States is due to obesity. Not only does it account for almost ten percent of the medical budget, but obesity is also rampant among children today. For example, I have a four-year-old nephew who lives with me at home. When he's thirsty, he says, "Uncle Alex, can I have some soda?" I tell him no and bring him a glass of water. He's by no means obese, not even overweight, but if he keeps drinking soda like he does, maybe he will be one day. Many people argue that there should be a tax on sugary drinks, saying it would help reduce obesity among consumers, reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, make sports more competitive, and give better examples for children. For starters, “that’s almost $3 per person.” case. Why so much? Because this tax, unlike the small junk food taxes of yesteryear, is designed to hurt. Its purpose is to discourage you from buying soda, on the grounds that soda, like smoking, is bad for your health (Saleten 1)." This quote refers to the proposed penny-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks such as soda and fruit juice. Let's compare for a second. A twelve pack of soda at your nearest grocery store costs about two dollars if the penny per ounce excise tax was applied. , that would mean there would be a dollar and forty four cent price increase That being said, a twenty-four pack of branded water costs about...... middle of paper ... ...Page=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId. = &query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&dis ableHighlighting=false&displayGroups =&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010785216http ://libweb.catawba.edu:2092 /ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal& contentModules=&mode =view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=&activity Type=&scanId=&documentId= GALE%7CEJ3010380258