Stop the Pop

Whether you call it pop, soda, cola, or coke…it all contains the same, no good properties. Each day, soda consumption alone provides the average teenage boy about fifteen teaspoons of refined sugars, and the average girl about ten teaspoon. These amounts approximately equal the recommended limit for a teens’ daily sugar intake from all foods (MDA). According the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA), the consumption of soft drinks is now over six hundred twelve ounce servings per person, per year. The highest consumption rates recorded are on males between the ages twelve and twenty nine; they average a half gallon a day or one hundred sixty gallons per year…that’s a lot of pop.

Now that you have an idea of just how much pop is consumed, I will discuss why people even bother to drink pop. I believe eMed Expert has really great explanations. The number one reason people consume pop is obvious, it taste good! When people love the flavor they get addicted to it very easy, making it extremely easy to consume with every meal. Next, pop is everywhere we go. It’s in vending machines, at fast food chains, and supermarket checkout lines. With pop being one of the top sellers on the market you can find it virtually everywhere. And since it’s almost anywhere we go, that lead me to the next point. Pop is extremely convenient. It can be grabbed in a hurry and taken on the go. Also being served in a convenient bottle, cup, or can is a plus for pop consumers. Another reason people drink pop is they are intrigued by the soft drink company’s advertisements.  Billions of dollars are spent on advertising, and hey, it works! Pop is also fairly cheap, when compared to 100% fruit juices and milk. You can usually add a large drink to a combo meal for just an extra dollar. After all of these great reasons that people consume pop, lastly they form a habit. When someone gets use to drinking many sodas a day, it becomes a vicious never ending cycle that’s extremely hard to overcome.

All of the things I’ve listed above make not drinking pop near impossible. But with this following information maybe I can changes a few peoples mind. I found this really great blog that campaigns “water for life,” and has some great reasoning to back their campaign. First off, the pH of soda is comparable to the pH of vinegar. Which means is extremely acidic, therefore leading to the next issue. Pop will dissolve your tooth enamel, with pops high sugar count and acidity, it easily dissolves tooth enamel. One of the main concerns with soda consumption is the increased risk of obesity. The comparison between pop consumption and body weight is so strong researchers calculate that for each extra soda consumed, the risk for obesity increases 1.6 times! Last but certainly not least in the case; as people are becoming more obese (much of it from pop) they are just increasing their risk for many other systemic diseases such as: diabetes, weekend bones, increased blood pressure, liver, and kidney damage. Now this is just to name a few, but it gets the point across.

Last I just want to discuss where my title name came from. Stop the Pop is a program from the dentist of the Missouri Dental Association (MDA). This program is used to raise awareness on the harmful effects pop has on our bodies. Many participating dentist have brochures and other material in their offices for patient education. I believe that this program has great potential to help inspire individuals to quit drinking pop for their own good.