Doctors Promote Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Drinks

Sugary drinks were again the target of anti-obesity efforts this week as the American Medical Association threw its support behind a tax on these beverages.  At the AMA annual meeting Wednesday, members of the organization - the largest physician group in the country - voted to adopt a policy that promotes taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages. A growing body of research has linked added sugars to higher body weight and to health conditions associated with being overweight, such as Type II diabetes. Sugar sweetened beverages account for approximately half of Americans' added sugar intake, according to AMA.