Sugary Drinks In Hendrix's Cafeteria

Sugary Drinks in Hendrix’s Cafeteria The World Health Organization has called for action against sugary drinks because of the rise in obesity. According to the news release “WHO urges global action to curtail consumption and health impacts of sugary drinks,” the World Health Organization reports that sugary drink consumption is the main reason for the rise of obesity. On Hendrix Campus, there are vending machines filled with sugary drinks in every dorm, in almost every academic building, and in the cafeteria. Because of the rise of obesity due to sugary drinks, they should be removed from the vending machines around Hendrix campus, but not the Hendrix Cafeteria. Most Hendrix residents consume one to two sugary drinks every day outside the Caf. “I have two cokes a day, “says Mary Grace Bishop, a Hendrix sophomore. “ Mountain Dew after lunch in my dorm and Dr. Pepper at dinner in the Caf.” One can of Dr. Pepper contains

In a day, Bishop consumes approximately eighty-seven grams of sugar in sugary drinks alone. According to the American Heart Association article, “Sugar 101”, the average women should consume thirty-seven and a half grams of sugar per day while men should consume twenty-five grams of sugar. “I drink Coke in the Caf,” says Megan Hammond, a Hendrix resident. “But I drink two Cokes from the vending machine in Raney.” Coca Cola contains thirty-nine grams of sugar; in Cokes alone, Hammond consumes one hundred and seventeen grams of sugar per day, nearly three times the healthy limit for women. Seventy-eight of those one hundred and seventeen grams comes from the vending machine in Raney. “Honestly, I would only drink one soda a day if we didn’t have that vending machine in Raney,” says Hammond. “Half of the time- I don’t realize I drink so many from there. It’s become a habit.” The vending machines around Hendrix gives easy access to sugary drinks.