by David Stodulski
Coca-Cola recently released a two-minute video on YouTube about doing its part in the fight against obesity.
While this may be a great marketing strategy, it shouldn’t fool you. Coke sales are down, and evidence suggests that calories from sodas are harmful.
Pepsi, the second most recognized beverage brand and a contributor to the obesity epidemic, is also revamping its image.
Pepsi signed Beyoncé for a $50 million contract to promote their products. Beyoncé, who has been active in First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign to make kids healthier, will now promote a product that makes kids less healthy.
It is no secret that soda is not the healthiest beverage choice. According to Pediatric Endocrinologist Robert Lustig, not all calories are the same. A fructose calorie is a type that overwhelms the liver, causing it to make the pancreas produce more insulin. This, in turn, puts more energy into the fat cells of the body.
The harmful effects of soda do not stop there. Metabolic syndrome is another possible problem. It occurs when someone has three of five chronic conditions: obesity, diabetes, issues with cholesterol or other lipids, cardiovascular disease or hypertension. One way to avoid metabolic syndrome is to stop drinking sugary drinks such as soda. Those with diabetes suffer 80,000 toe, foot and leg amputations annually.
So why are soda companies revamping their images?
Nanci Hellmich, a reporter for “USA Today,” said that Coca-Cola is pretending that it’s “part of the solution rather than part of the problem.” Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said that Coca-Cola’s new video “is just a damage control exercise and not a meaningful contribution towards addressing obesity.”
The new advertising campaigns are nothing more than decoys. Consumers are starting to become health conscious and to change their diets, so sales for Coca-Cola fall, and the company panics.
People are limiting their soda intake. Whether parents limit their child’s intake of soda, or a child tries to help a parent lose weight, or someone uses self-control, people are being mindful of how much soda they drink. According to the “New England Journal of Medicine,” 68 percent of 1,300 people in a worldwide survey favored government regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages. If the government becomes involved in regulating soda, companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi could end up with strict regulations like Marlboro and other cigarette companies.
Big soda companies are only concerned with making money. It is time for people to fight back against obesity and chronic disease by showing these companies that we are no fools.
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