And they need to get this garbage out of the schools. When I was in elementary school, there were no vending machines on campus at all. The school didn’t serve breakfast, or sell any food at recess. Recess was just recess–not midmorning snack time. If you were thirsty, you drank water from the water fountain.

The school sold lunch. You could buy it there, or bring your own from home. When lunch was over the school cafeteria closed for the day.

And after school nobody stopped at the store to buy candy, etc. People went home, or stayed at school for sports, etc.

A good book is “Live Young Forever” by Jack Lalanne. Too bad they don’t show reruns of his old show. People need to see it!

You said “We also know that this proposal was floated as a way to pay for health care reform without imposing higher taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year.”

First of all, this sort of news to mean. Damn that media for leaving it that out. The funny thing, there is only one person who made that claim, Rep Tom Coburn.

Kelly Brownell, Yale Researcher, a one-cent-an-ounce tax would cut consumption by 10%, reduce medical costs by $50 billion in a decade and raise $150 billion over the period.

A broader tax on junk food could raise $500 billion over 10 years, according to a study done by University of Virginia scholars Carolyn Engelhard and Arthur Garson and the Urban Institute’s Stan Dorn.

You said : “What we don’t know is whether it would have any effect on consumption or not. The evidence suggests that Latinos would continue to consume these beverages anyway absent a health education campaign to explain why sugared drinks are not healthy.”

Well d’uh!! For one, I guess global warming doesn’t exist either. For one, it is obvious there needs some kind physical activity to reduce weight. That line of thinking is as foolish believing that you only eat Subway, you would be as successful as Jarad. He even said it, he would walk from his house to Subway.

From Children Now:
Despite industry claims that food marketing to children would be limited to healthier products through the initiative, this study finds that more than two-thirds (68.5%) of all advertising by participating companies is for foods and beverages in the Whoa category, the lowest category of nutritional quality. These Whoa products should be consumed only on “special occasions, such as your birthday.”

Licensed characters are increasingly used to promote nutritionally poor food and beverage products to children.

Research shows that licensed characters are particularly effective at influencing children because children trust the characters they see in program content. Consequently, the Institute of Medicine’s report recommended that licensed characters should be used “only for the promotion of foods and beverages that support healthful diets.” Yet companies participating in the initiative have nearly doubled their use of licensed characters over the past four years, from 8.8% in 2005 to 15.2% in 2009, and roughly half of all ads with such characters (49.4%) are for nutritionally poor Whoa products.

Despite the industry’s self-regulatory pledges, which specify that participating companies will only use licensed characters to promote their “better-for-you” products, none of the healthier foods and beverages they marketed with licensed characters qualify as a Go product that children can consume every day.

Well, it is good to know my niece is in good hands.[sic]

Was there even a discussion during the national assembly? I find hard to believe it would have been fully supported.

Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting information that is intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion, the industry has done more than endanger the health of the child. It has undermined democracy.

Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.

Although all public relations professionals are bound by a duty to not knowingly mislead the public, some have executed comprehensive campaigns of misinformation on behalf of industry clients on issues ranging from tobacco and asbestos to seat belts.

Now, these fringe players have turned their efforts to creating confusion about childhood obesity. This PR campaign could not be accomplished without the compliance of media as well as the assent and participation of leaders in government, business and community.

People have a right to know who is paying the deniers. It is difficult to deceive or confuse a well-informed person. As a former officer and member of a LULAC council and a grandson of Laredo’s original LULAC council, I will be monitoring.

Oh please. If somebody walks into an emergency room they will receive treatment, and somebody pays for that. Doctors will not turn anybody away.

You have a very perverse notion of freedom. We have the freedom to govern ourselves, and that means taking responsibility for oneself. Sorry, but filling up on alcohol and fast food and gaining 200 pounds is not taking responsibility. And when you don’t take responsibility for yourself, somebody else has to pick up the slack.

And when you abuse alcohol, drugs and sugar (fast food, soda) you are not in control. You are not free. You are setting yourself up for ill health, poverty and an early death.

These foods are now full of chemicals that are making people sick. Diabetes is an epidemic. Get a clue.

And who ends up paying for their health care? If people want to drink soda and eat fast food then they should pay higher taxes on those items to offset the increased health care costs.

And enough with calling anything you disagree with “socialism.” People use that word now without even knowing what it means.