controlled trial of roughly 640 children, those who were given one 8-ounce serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage a day gained more weight and body fat over 1½ years than those who got one 8-ounce serving of a sugar-free beverage. (12) Sugar-sweetened beverages are a unique contributor to excess caloric consumption. A large body of research shows that calories from sugar-sweetened beverages do not satisfy hunger the way calories from solid food or fat or protein-containing beverages such as those containing milk and plant-based proteins. As a result, sugar-sweetened beverages tend to add to the calories people consume rather than replace calories from other foods and beverages. (13) Overweight children have a much greater chance of being obese as adults, with all the health risks that entails. (14) Type 2 diabetes, previously only seen among adults, is now increasing among children. Data show that almost a quarter of teens now have either diabetes or prediabetes. If the current trends are not reversed, it is predicted that one in three children and nearly one-half of Latino and African-American children born in the year 2000 will develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. (15) People who consume an average amount of added sugar equivalent to one 20-ounce soda per day are 30 percent more likely to die from a heart attack over 15 years. People who consume the added sugar equivalent of at least 2–3 20-ounce sodas per day are 2.75 times more likely to die from a heart attack. (16) Tooth decay (dental caries) is the single most common chronic childhood disease, experienced by more than one-fourth of United States children aged 2–5 years and half of those aged 12–15 years. About half of all children and two-thirds of adolescents aged 12–19 years from lower-income families have had decay. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, children who frequently or excessively consume beverages high in sugar are at increased risk for dental caries. Untreated dental caries can lead to pain, infection, tooth loss,