On doctor's advice, I have started a fat loss program. The diet change that has made the most difference is eliminating sodas. I love how smooth Diet Dr Pepper is but if I drink one - I won't lose any weight that day and will probably actually gain weight.

Like many people here, I hate to tell others what they should and shouldn't do in their lives. But the evidence is pretty clear (and not just from my personal experience) that sodas should not be a staple of anyone's diet, and should be actively avoided. If you're going to drink one - regard it as a treat. Like a candy bar.

That the soft drink companies are engaging in rent-seeking behavior (like the tobacco industry did) is also a sign that they shouldn't be on the list of allowed purchases.

> I love how smooth Diet Dr Pepper is but if I drink one - I won't lose any weight that day and will probably actually gain weight.

Because... it makes you hungry and so you eat more calories from other sources? When I'm cutting, diet soda is a godsend. The carbonation acts like a pseudo fiber and keeps me full.

I can't explain it - I would be at a less loss for calories for the day yet not lose weight. Aspartame may interfere in some way with CO2 production? Dunno.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34379483/

Like alcohol or cigarettes there's no way they could ever be banned, but I think if society really pushed for it we could lump soda into the same category: Illegal to give to minors, warning labels, ID to purchase. The slippery slope argument is that people will argue that next comes targeting ice cream, pastries, etc.. while conveniently ignoring that drinking a soda with one or more meals a day is normalized yet eating a slide of pie at that rate would be alarming.

I doubt it will ever happen but it would probably help with our obesity rates among children.

How about before we stoop to legal bans we try education solutions first. I’d rather politicians not start worrying about their “pet” sins du jour.

We've been doing the education approach for decades.

Yes, sometimes it takes a long time—which is still much better than authoritarian approaches.

Better, on your subjective opinion. Better in terms of measurable results? Obviously not. Telling people that soda is bad is an abject failure.

Yes I am sure a government imposing its will against the desires of its people could be more effective at prevention.

>We've been doing the education approach for decades.

Have we? The "education approach" seems to have worked for cigarettes[0]

But we haven't used that approach for sugary drinks. And the results show that[1].

[0] https://www.statista.com/statistics/184418/percentage-of-cig...

[1] https://blogs.cdc.gov/nchs/2017/01/26/3410/