Obesity and weight gain are complex problems that will take a comprehensive, meaningful approach to overcome. Weight gain is caused from an imbalance in calories consumed and those burned through physical activity; yet, some people continually attempt to single out soft drinks as uniquely contributing to obesity. By the numbers, blaming soft drinks for obesity simply does not add up.

Here are a few facts proving that sugar-sweetened beverages are not driving obesity:

According to USDA data, the average American today consumes 445 additional calories a day than in 1970. But, just 9 percent of those calories come from sugar – from all sources. Furthermore, government NHANES data released by the USDA in June shows that sugar-sweetened beverages contribute even less – at just 6 percent of calories to the average American’s diet. That corresponds with data from the CDC that has found since 2000, added sugars from soda are down 39 percent and beverage industry data that shows average calories per serving from beverages are down 23 percent.

By focusing solely on soft drinks, 94 percent of the rest of the diet is being ignored. It’s time to take a look at the big picture.  Check out LetsClearItUp.org for more information.