How Soda Tax And Its Impact On Cupertino Schools - 1949 Words

Ah! A hot summer day and a cool can of soda. What could be better! But can you imagine my angst, when in spring break my Mom threw away all the Soda cans left over from the new year party. This got me thinking, so I challenged my mom and was chagrined when she said Take a look at Berkeley, and why they passed the first Soda Tax in America What follows is a chronicle of my 8 weeks of journey starting with scientific inquiry trysts in Cupertino library to meeting a Professor of nutrition at Stanford University to discussions of classic American battle of taxes, a chance meeting and life lessons in advocacy from the Mayor of Sunnyvale and finally landing back in Cupertino - this time in city hall with councilman Darcy Paul. This†¦show more content†¦Soda consumption can lead to numerous, serious health issues. It can decrease calcium absorption in the intestines. Calcium is necessary not only for keeping our bones strong, but also to help our nerves send messages to our brain and muscles contract. Less calcium can lead low bone density and fractured bones. Soda consumption can lead to health issues such as obesity and diabetes. The more soda consumed the higher insulin level. High insulin levels can result in visceral fat gain, leading to America’s major problem; obesity. 24.1% of Californians are obese a nd 18.4% are obese in Cupertino. Although our body needs cholesterol to function like anything, too much can be harmful. High cholesterol can clog the coronary arteries, which surround and supply the heart. The outcome of high cholesterol is heart disease. Another health issue which can occur if consumption of soda is very high is diabetes. Diabetes occurs when the body can’t produce enough insulin or can’t use the insulin the body produces properly. The higher the consumption of SSB(Sugar sweetened beverages) the higher chance of getting diabetes. Barry Popkin, a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, says that the people getting diabetes are people who consume very high levels of SSBs and have only slightly reduced in these very high levels of their soda consumption. Not only is