While 41% percent of those polled in 2002 said that they try to steer clear of soda, 12 years later, that number has now jumped to almost two-thirds of Americans. What a sad development for a substance that started out as a “health tonic” whipped up at drugstore counters.
“Studies continue to reveal the adverse health effects of consuming soda, and high-profile attempts to ban the purchase of large individual servings of soda or to tax it have apparently raised Americans’ consciousness about drinking it, even if closer to half still consume the beverage,” Gallup said in a statement. “At this point, 13% of Americans say they don’t think about soda intake, down from 24% a decade ago.”
Overall, the poll shows that Americans are trying to eat more healthfully. More than nine out of 10 try to include fruits and vegetables in their diets, and 52% said that they are trying to avoid sugar. Although trying isn’t necessarily doing.
“The data generally show that Americans are highly aware of what they should and should not be including in their diet,” Gallup says, but “the challenge appears to be one of changing their actual behavior rather than their underlying knowledge of what is good and bad for their health.”