The rate at which sugary drinks are being consumed in the United States is increasing by an alarming rate. Majority of Americans lead a high-fructose (sugar) diet, but they do not understand the fact that leading this kind of diet can lead to many negative health problems. People do not realize how much sugar they are consuming by purchasing large sized sugary beverages. They do not realize that consuming such large quantities of sugary beverages like Coca Cola, is leading to serious health problems in the United States. By banning large portioned sugary drinks that are more than sixteen ounces, there will be a decrease in the risk of obesity, Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and brain injury in the United States. 

Highly populated places like New York City, are considering evoking a ban on large sized sugary beverages over sixteen ounces. In Michael Grynbaum's article, he mentions the plan to ban large sugary beverages will be put into effect under the "first-in-the-nation" plan. This is because more than fifty percent of New York City's adult population is obese or overweight. A large part of that data can be blamed on the high amount of sugary drink intake. According to Dr. Farley, about a third of New York City's population consumes at least one or more large sugary drinks a day. To end this epidemic, New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, plans to ban sugary beverages over the size of sixteen ounces. He said, "obesity is a nationwide problem, and all over the United States, public health officials are wringing their hands saying, 'Oh, this is terrible,'" but, "New York City is not about wringing your hands; it's about doing something, I think that's what the public wants the mayor to do" (Bloomberg). Bloomberg continues on to explain that decreasing banning large sized sugary drinks will promote a healthier New Yorker lifestyle and decrease the city's obesity rate. Many are agreeing with Bloomberg's plan, hoping to better the city population's health as a whole. In Lawrence Gostin's article, he mentions that four out of ten children residing in New York City are obese. He further explains that these statistics are unacceptable, because obesity is leading to more dangerous health problems like obesity, heart disease, and cancer. Banning large portioned sugary drinks will solve a majority of New York City's obesity problem, because the ban would be cutting down on the high percentage of large soda consumption that New Yorkers contribute to. Gostin believes that this ban on large sugary beverages would be "a little nudge in the right direction." The ban would enforce people to think about the amount of sugar they are consuming and decrease their sugar intake. The entire country should consider putting this ban into effect, if a highly populated metropolitan like New York City is considering it. 

The most purchased sugary beverage is soda. Soda is also one of the leading causes of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Even though many people know this, they still continue to purchase and consume sodas in large quantities. Studies show that the more soda an individual consumes, the more dangerous the habit becomes. In Amanda MacMillan's article, she explains that "whether you're a six-pack-a-day drinker or an occasional soft-drink sipper," reducing the overall consumption of soda will lead to a healthier life style and cut down on the chances of getting diabetes, heart disease, or other problems caused by the intake of high-sugar sodas. Assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Lona Sandon, explains that the "greatest risk for regular soda drinkers is the excess calories" that they intake. The excess calories that people consume comes from the high amount of added sugar in the soda. This is not only unhealthy, but can lead to serious health problems in the long run such as diabetes, tooth decay, and weakness in bones. Soda contain prosperous, so consuming large portions of it can lead to brittle bones. People should consume healthier drink options, such as milk, which contains calcium and other nutrients that help strengthen bones. It is extremely dangerous to one's health to consume more prosperous than calcium, so a decrease in soda intake is necessary to live a healthy lifestyle. Many people assume that drinking large amounts of diet soda is safe to drink because of the zero calories, but in some ways diet soda is much worse than regular soda. The artificial sweeteners added to diet soda to make it taste like regular soda is just as bad for one's health as regular soda, if not worse. Studies show that diet sodas have been linked to tooth decay and bone thinning. Additionally, diet sodas have proved to be linked to heart disease and lead to depression in women. All kinds of soda in general are very unhealthy for the human body, weaning off of soda is especially difficult if it becomes a habit. Enforcing a ban on large sized sugary beverages like soda can lead to people stop depending on soda and drink healthier options, such as milk. 

Soda is the second most consumed beverage, after water. It is disappointing to learn that more people are drinking unhealthy sugary beverages in large quantities more than any other health beneficial drink. People may understand the long term health problems caused by excess intake of soda, but not many know about the immediate negative effects soda inflicts on the body. When the first sip of soda is swallowed, the pancreas is informed and immediately begins to pump insulin in response to the sugar. Within twenty minutes of consumption of the soda, blood sugar levels increase and in response to the insulin, the liver converts the sugar into fat. In forty-five minutes of consuming the soda, the caffeine from the drink is absorbed into the body and results in the rise of blood pressure. Eyes then become dilated and the brain produces more dopamine. By one hour, the body experiences a "blood sugar crash" and this is also within the time the person reaches for the second soda. People do not realize how many functions are happening in the body when consuming only one soda. Learning about the breakdown of how the body processes the consumption of one soda can in an hour is shocking. Harvard study shows that every additional soda consumed increases the chance of obesity 1.6 times. This is dangerous and more people should be aware about what happens to their body as they consume soda. Banning the sale of large sugary beverages in the United States, will force people to cut down the amount of soda being consumed and realize the dangers of sugary drinks effects on the human body. 

The effect of the consumption of large sugary beverages is more dangerous to children than it is to adults. However, many children are consuming excessive amounts of sugary beverages current day. A study published by The Lancet, shows the negative effect sugary beverages have on children's health. The study was performed to prove the link between the rising obesity rate in children and the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages. The scientists examined 548 ethnically diverse school children for nineteen months to find the association between childhood obesity and consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks. They found that for each additional intake of a sugary drink, the body mass index and frequency of obesity increased. This evidence concludes that the study proved children's consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks to be associated with the high obesity rate in children. Therefore, banning the consumption of sugary beverages larger than sixteen ounces will lead to a decrease in the obesity rate in children. Many children are unaware of the dangers of consuming excess amounts of sugary drinks. That is why the obesity rate in children is so high in the United States. About 20 countries have already banned the sale of sugary beverages in schools, in response to the inclining obesity rate in children. With the legalization of the ban, children will be educated to consume less soda and continue a healthy, active lifestyle. 

Increased consumption of sugary beverages is a recent threat to the health of the nation. The national increase of sugary beverage consumption is accelerating every year at a faster and faster rate. As the consumption rate of sugary drinks is increasing, the nation's obesity rate is increasing in correlation to that as well. A study performed in 2004, concluded that the intake of sugary beverages is a cause to the obesity rate epidemic. The high amount of fructose found in sugary beverages leads to weight gain. There is a direct association between the fructose consumption and the obesity rate in the United States. Another study that restricted overweight adolescents from drinking large quantities of sugary drinks resulted in a decrease in body weight among the adolescents. These studies support that the extent of consumption sugary drinks impact weight gain or weight loss. Weight gain caused by consuming excess amounts of sugary soft drinks is linked to Type-2 diabetes. There is a twenty-six percent higher chance for a person who consumes one to two cans of soda per day, to develop Type-2 diabetes versus someone who rarely consumes soda. The Nurses' Health study conducted research on ninety thousand women for eight years. The nurses who consumed more than one serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage a day were twice as likely to get Type-2 diabetes than those who did not consume any sugary beverages. There is a lot of evidence that proves Type-2 diabetes is being caused by overconsumption of sugary drinks. To end this widespread epidemic in the United States, a sugary drink ban over the size of sixteen ounces should be enforced. This will ensure the Type-2 diabetes rate in the country to decrease immensely. 

In addition to the serious weight gain caused by consuming large quantities of sugary drinks, there is a risk of developing heart disease in the long run. A recent Harvard study showed the the harmful effects consuming large amounts of sugar on the heart, supporting that it could eventually lead to heart disease. Harvard's assistant professor of nutrition, Dr. Fung, explains the dangers of consuming superfluous amounts of sugar to the heart. Fung mentions that sugar-sweetened drinks, such as sodas, energy drinks, etc. are the main source of "added sugar" in American diets. "They account for more than one third of added sugar we consume as a nation," she says (Fung). She explains that "added sugar" not only includes the sugar we add to foods, but the artificial sweeteners and sucrose used to make the food or drink itself (Fung). In the Harvard study, participants who consumed twenty-five percent or more of their daily calories as sugar, were more than twice as likely to experience death from heart disease than those whose diets included less than ten percent of "added sugar" (Fung). That shows that overconsumption of sugar can increase the risk of death due to heart disease. "Currently, our dietary guidelines include recommendations for fat and salt but not for sugar," says Dr. Fung. People are unaware of the danger of sugar, because it is not advertised as much as the danger of consuming fats and salts. In this case, consuming excess sugar is more dangerous because people are not aware that it can lead to hazardous health problems, like heart disease. There should be more effort put into the awareness of the dangers of leading a high-sugar diet. Dr. Fung suggests to curb the soda habit and cut down sugar from the diet to decrease the risk in developing heart disease. By enforcing a national ban on the sale of large portioned high-sugar drinks, people will cut down on the consumption of sugary beverages. 

In the Nurses' Health Study, results showed that women who consumed more than two portions of a sugary drink each day, had a forty percent greater risk in developing heart disease or death caused by heart disease than nurses who rarely consumed any sugary drinks (Harvard Journal). People who have a habit to consume a lot of sugary drinks also tend to weigh more than those who do not consume many sugary drinks. People who are overweight or obese are more likely to develop heart disease or die from heart disease. If the United States bans the sale of large sugary drinks, there will more people living healthy lifestyles with lower rates of obesity and heart disease, promoting to consume less sugar. 

Majority of people in the United States are aware of the negative effects high-sugar drinks have on the body, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. However, people are unaware of the negative effects high-sugar drinks have on the health of the brain. Most people in America are leading high-fructose (sugar) diets, without realizing the immense quantity of negative effects it has on the brain. In her article, Caroline Gregoire emphases the harmful effects of high-sugar intake on the brain. Sugar can cause the brain to transmit signals that can cause one to have cravings for more sugar. Neuroscientist Jordan Gianes, explains how sugar "hijacks the brain's reward pathway," and can stimulate the brain to crave more sugar (Gregoire). These cravings in turn, can lead an individual to consume a higher amount of sugary foods, ultimately causing obesity, Type-2 diabetes, and heart disease. Consuming large amounts of sugar can also cause memory loss and impede learning processes in the brain. After the completion of his study, Dr. Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, concluded that with "excess sugar consumption, cognition can be impaired" (Gregoire).  This shows that increased intake of sugar will trigger the brain to slow, negatively effecting thinking processes. Consuming high amounts of sugar can also lead to anxiety, depression, and dementia. Consuming high amounts of sugar in little time will lead to a sugar crash. Sugar crashes are initiated by the fluctuation in the blood sugar level. They disrupt neurotransmitters that "help keep our moods stable" (Gregoire). Mood swings caused by sugar crashes can eventually lead to depression and anxiety. High-sugar intake can disrupt other parts of the brain as well, and lead to dementia and Alzheimer's. Endocrinologist Dr. Medha Munshi, says that the "brain is a target organ for damage by high blood sugar," causing a risk in developing diseases like Alzheimer's (Gregoire). Banning the sale of large high-sugar beverages, will lead to more awareness of the negative effects sugar has on the brain and encourage people to consume less sugary drinks. 

Some people in the country, such as Stefan Friedman oppose the idea of the ban and disagree with Mayor Bloomburg saying that it is unfair and ridiculous. Friedman believes that banning large sugary drinks is a waste of time and energy of the government. Other people argue that the lack of "heart-healthy" foods is the what is causing heart disease, not high-sugar beverages. There are also many who are unaware of the health defects caused by sugar, that believe excess intake of fats and carbs is the main cause of obesity and Type-2 diabetes. However, that is not the case. The government must act on bringing the obesity rate down, especially for children in this generation. The government can also bring awareness to the people of the dangers of high-sugar beverages by inflicting the ban. Many people, including Bloomberg, feel that banning large sugary drinks will decrease the rate of obesity, Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, and brain illnesses. The ban will allow people to be more aware of their diet and motivate them to lead healthier lifestyles.

The government should ban the sale of large portioned sugary drinks in the United States immediately in an effective manner. The increasing rate of obesity, Type-2 diabetes, heart diseases, and brain illnesses is dangerous to the health of our nation. By legalizing the ban, people will be more aware of the negative effects of sugar on the body. The ban will urge people to have a healthy diet and lead an active lifestyle. 

