Introduction
Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges in the United States. Childhood obesity is associated with many health complications that can likely carry on into adulthood causing premature deaths. Research has shown that consuming sugar sweetened beverages has been associated with weight gain. To help combat child obesity government, state, and local policy makers have stepped in to regulate school foods and beverages. “In 1970, Congress amended the Child Nutrition Act to permit the secretary of agriculture to regulate foods and beverages sold in competition with the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program” (Mello, Pomeranz, and Moran, 2008). Sellers of sugar-sweetened beverages in the United States have agreed to work with schools to phase out the sales of sweetened beverages and unhealthy snacks mainly elementary and junior high schools “(Mello, Pomeranz, and Moran, 2008).
The changes, enacted to fight childhood obesity, by banning the sales of sugar sweetened beverages could cost schools and venders a huge percentage of revenue. The best allocative efficiency practice to reduce or eliminate children from consuming sugary drinks in schools would be to replace the vending machines of their sugary drinks and offer
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With the National Soft Drink Association disputing the role of sugar-sweetened beverages being affiliated with childhood overweight (Mello, Pomeranz, and Moran, 2008), and not everyone agreeing that these products should be taken out of the schools, this continuous situation could be a long legal battle where no positive health outcome is gained and profits will continue to be lost. “Adopting the criterion of economic efficiency implies that society makes choices which maximize the health outcomes gained from the resources allocated to healthcare” (Palmer and Torgerson,