Soda Taxes Not Making a Dent in U.S. Waistlines
“In an analysis of 16 years of data (1990 to 2006) on how various forms of soft drink taxation affected body mass index, researchers found that taxation has only a minor effect on BMI, which is a measurement based on weight and height. For example, a 1 percent tax increase causes a BMI decrease of 0.003 points — less than a tenth of a pound for a man of average height.”
Let’s do a little math. A 1% tax on soda = a .003 point decrease in BMI. Assume a linear relationship between the tax and the BMI effect (we don’t know whether it’s linear or not, but go with me on this for argument’s sake). A 100% tax on soda would then lead to a .3 point decrease in BMI….sounds like they need a new strategy to me.
