Our children are getting sicker.
The number of children we treat for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and other obesity-related illness is growing.
According to the Washington State Department of Health, a quarter of our kids in middle and high school are overweight or obese, and that figure is growing. Children that drink two or more sodas daily are more likely to be overweight than those who don’t. And 90 percent of Washington’s schools have easy access to unhealthy snack foods.
It’s up to the adults to care for our state’s children.
Some of the programs that could best protect our children’s health are under threat. Programs that provide nutrition education, community health services and dental care may be cut due to our state’s current budget shortfall.
Instead of cutting programs that help our children, we should raise revenue in order to continue funding for their health care.
What better way to raise revenue than to tax candy and soda. Currently, candy and sweet treats are considered food and exempt from sales tax. Candy isn’t food, and it doesn’t provide nutrition. Washington lawmakers should eliminate the sales tax exemption and return the $44 million dollars in revenue that our state loses every year to this tax break.
Another even larger source of revenue that could fund our state’s health programs is a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. This tax would raise an estimated $310 million dollars in new revenue every year as well as lowering consumption of unhealthy sugar-sweetened drinks.
As a pediatrician, I am deeply concerned by the growing numbers of children who are overweight and suffering from weight-related illness. Sugar-sweetened beverages have had a negative impact on their health.
It’s heartbreaking to explain to a child or their parents that they have a chronic disease or that they’ll have to take daily medications at the young age of 8, 12 and 16. These health problems affect their ability to learn, can impact their behavior and often lead to bullying behavior from other children.
No one wants that for our children. The amount of sweets, drinks and treats our children’s diets are growing. More and more children are becoming overweight or obese as a result.
Shouldn’t we do everything we can to protect programs to reverse this trend rather than making unhealthy and calorie-filled products more affordable?
Together we can help our children live longer and happier lives. We must make healthier alternatives easier and more affordable.
I urge our state legislators to take action by taxing candy and soda, and raise new revenue to protect our children’s health.
Because we’re the adults and the children depend on us.
Danette Swanson-Glassy is a primary care pediatrician practicing community pediatrics on Mercer Island for over 20 years. In addition to raising two teenagers and caring for her patients, Dr. Glassy is a child advocate working to improve access to health care for all children and policies that promote healthy and safe children on the Eastside, across the state of Washington and on a national level.
