Have you ever thought about obesity in America and how to reduce it? Marlow and Shiers state in their 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: $147 billion in 2008 (Marlow and Shiers Shiers)". This means that nearly ten percent, $147 billion, of healthcare spending throughout the United States is caused by obesity. Not only does it account for nearly ten percent of the medical budget, but obesity is rampant among children today. For example, I have a four-year-old nephew who lives at home with me. When he's thirsty he says, "Uncle Alex, can I have a soda?" I tell him no and get him a glass of water. He's not obese at all, not even overweight, but if he keeps drinking soda like he does, he might one day become so. Many people argue that there should be a tax on sugary drinks claiming that this will help reduce obesity among consumers, reduce the chances of heart disease and diabetes, make sports more competitive and set a better example for children. case. Why so much? Because this tax, unlike the small junk food taxes of the past, is designed to harm. Its purpose is to discourage you from buying soda, on the grounds that soda, like smoking, is bad for you (Saleten 1)." This quote refers to the proposed one-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks like soda and juice. Let's compare for a second. A twelve-pack of soda costs about two dollars at the nearest grocery store four cents. Said this, a twenty-four pack of store brand water is about... half the paper... Page=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId =&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010785217http://libweb.catawba.edu:2092/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetails Window?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&currPage=& disableHighlighting=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=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010380258