Soft Drinks in Global Perspective - Essay Example

A social issue or a social problem portrays the community’s or the society’s view on the lives of its people. These issues are basically different in different societies. Therefore, what may be normal in one community may be a social problem in another society. Consumption of soft drinks is viewed as a social problem in the United States, Qatar, and Australia. This is because it has been linked to many health problems, obesity being among them. Recent scientific discoveries of researchers show that soft drinks contain high amount of sugar, which causes obesity, high blood pressure, and tooth decay. These are great problems on the cost of health and economic productivity, to mention but a few. The issue is more prevalent among the adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years. This could be because soft drinks are readily available, known, and extensively marketed especially to adolescents despite having no nutritional value. It is argued that soft drinks are the main cause of the prevalence of obesity among young people. This has lead researchers to recommend specific attention to be placed on soft drinks as a target for obesity prevention programs among the adolescents. Therefore, adolescents and obese individuals will make my target audience for the social campaign. Soft drinks cause weight gain in several ways. One of the ways, as put forward by nutritionists, is the consumption of high-fructose syrup extracted from corn because it deprives the body of its ability to control appetite. At the moment, in America, “64.5% of adults over the age of 20 are overweight, 30.5% are obese, and 4.7% are severely obese” (Sheth and Shah 5). This could be the main reason behind the rise in epidemiological works on children and adults. The works have identified that soft drinks have a strong link with obesity and type 2 diabetes. Recent studies have pointed out that fructose used in most soft drinks is very dangerous. Fructose is found in many plants; it is a component in sucrose (table salt) and high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) made from corn. Critics further claim that fructose metabolizes in the liver itself. This poses a health risk to the people since the sugar in the soft drinks forms the base for calories. Due to minimal physical activities in many people, the sugar levels accumulate in the body system as fats. The accumulation of fat in the human system leads to development of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes or obesity. Global perspective Soft drinks have become one of the greatest social problems in today’s world. Their ready availability makes them a faster solution to thirst and urge for refreshment. For example, in America, there are 450 different types of soft drinks, where 28% of the consumption goes to carbonated drinks. Their distribution is made easy by the use of vending machines in the country (Rangan 15). This is according to a study conducted in 2004 by American beverage association. The above scenario is duplicated in many parts of the globe. Countries like Qatar rank among top 10 consumers of soft drinks based on the market share. There are a number of factors associated with the increased soft drink consumption ranging from personal, social, cultural to environmental factors. Taste, parental consumption, parenting styles, social status, and cultural background also contribute to increased soft drink consumption. For example, in Qatar, their cultural ways of life and the environment make most of the people take soft drinks (Clemmitt 5). It is estimated that male adolescents consume almost a liter per day in Qatar. Social perspective From 1994 till 1996, Americans were averagely using more than 20 teaspoons a day in contrast to the recommended amount (Smolin and Grosvenor 149). In the USA, sugar consumption over the past sixteen years has increased by 28 percent, and a significant part of it comes from soft drinks. According to Devlin, a 12-ounce can of soda contains 13 teaspoons of high-fructose syrup made from corn. This trend has been the case in other parts of the world. Thus, there is an increase in many sugar related issues in the globe. According to Clemmitt, an average adolescent person ranging from 12 to 19 years gets about 300 calories per day from the beverages where soft drinks belong (Clemmitt 10). Soda’s sale to school children has been rampant, especially within the public school compounds. This has led to a realization that soft drinks are a single largest contributor to obesity among the adolescents and, therefore, a big social issue in Qatar. Many people have raised their voices against sodas being sold in schools. The result has been that only water, juice and free milk is sold in elementary and middle schools. However, in high schools, it was proposed that water, juices, sports beverages and diet soda be sold. As a campaign strategy to sensitize the population to health risks and behavior change, Ragan and the team propose the following to my target audience: first soft drink consumption by young children should be reduced; second, frequency, and quantity of consumption to be reduced; third, artificially sweetened drinks should replace soft drinks; and last but not the least, water should replace soft drinks. Individual behavior change strategies have higher chances of successful if compounded with environmental strategies. Therefore, the advice offered by Rangan and the team might not work if individual behavior change does not take place. The strategies to apply on individual behavior change could include restricting access to soft drinks, increasing price by taxation, limiting size of tins, emphasizing on labeling and nutrition signposting, and reformulating the products. In conclusion, soft drinks as a social issue are a global problem as well as a cultural issue. It is mostly prevalent among the adolescents aged between 12 and 19 years. This is made possible because soft drinks are readily available to them. Using an interactionist concept to form the base of my analysis, it is evident that high consumption of soft drinks has been associated with most prevalent lifestyle diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes. The high percentage figures recorded by researchers show the negative effects of soft drinks on adolescents. The campaign should therefore be channeled towards reducing access and consumption of soft drinks to adolescents. Work Cited Devlin, John. The Natural IBS Cure: Unique 3 steps System Guaranteed To Permanently Cure IBS Using The Best of Modern Natural and Ancient Chinese Medicine, 2011. Web. 9 March 2013. . Clemmitt, Marcia. “Sugar controversies: Should Governmnet Restrict Sugar Consumption?” CQ Researcher. SAGE Publication, Inc, 2012. Print. Rangan A., D. Hector, J. Louie, V. Flood, and Gill T. Soft Drinks, Weight Status and Health: Health Professionals Update. Faculty of Health and Behavioral Sciences, 2009. Web. 9 March 2013. . Sheth, Mini and Shah, Nirali. The Scientific Way To Managing Obesity. New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 2006. Print. Smolin, Lori, A. and Grosvenor, Mary B. Nutrition: Science and Application. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Print. Read More