CHICAGO -- Americans' unhealthy eating habits will be the target of the top U.S. physicians' group this week, when it votes on resolutions calling for reducing salt in food and for taxes on sugary soft drinks, reported Reuters.
The American Medical Association (AMA) plans to focus on the contribution of soft drinks to the nation's obesity epidemic as well as the overconsumption of dietary salt when its 544 doctor-delegates convene the group's annual meeting.
One resolution asks the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to [image-nocss] place stricter regulations on sodium in processed foods, fast food and restaurant offerings, and it recommends cutting salt content in foods by at least half over the next decade.
Most American adults consume more than the recommended limit of 6 grams, or a teaspoon, of salt per day, said the report.
"One of the most important things the food industry should be doing is cutting the salt, and having the AMA support changes in the way salt is regulated would be very important," said Michael Jacobsen, director of the Center for Science & the Public Interest, a health advocacy group.
A second resolution supports taxes on sugary soft drinkslikely at the state and local leveldespite industry opposition. It calls for the revenue to go for public health programs to combat obesity, which has been labeled an epidemic by U.S. health authorities. A soft-drink tax might also curb consumption somewhat, the AMA said, as with levies on alcohol and cigarettes.
A few cities and states levy taxes on soft drinks or junk foods that collectively raise $1 billion a year, Jacobsen said, but earmarking tax revenue for programs promoting better diet would be a first.
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