Earlier today, Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released their annual report on obesity rates across America.  "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2010" confirms that, in the past year, adult obesity rates have increased in 28 states and declined only in the District of Columbia - our backyard.

According to an Associated Press article, this year's report also includes a new survey of parental attitudes about the issue of obesity, which shows an increasing awareness of obesity and its impact on public health. In the same article it was noted that 84 percent of parents surveyed believed their children were at a healthy weight, even though nearly a third of children and teens are considered obese.

While the report discusses a number of ways to turn back the tide on obesity (including the controversial topic of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages which science, data and real-world evidence prove would be ineffective in achieving that public health goal), the survey findings support the continued need for nutrition education and access to nutrition information - something our industry supports.

The non-alcoholic beverage industry is proud to do its part to help reduce childhood obesity, and our commitment shows through our industry initiatives.  The industry has already delivered on its commitment to change the beverage landscape in America's schools by removing full-calorie soft drinks and providing more lower-calorie, nutritious, smaller portion beverage options.  With the School Beverage Guidelines, our companies have slashed beverage calories shipped to schools by 88 percent since 2004.

And earlier this year we announced our Clear on Calories labeling initiative.  In support of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let’s Move!" anti-obesity campaign, America's leading beverage companies have committed to clearly display the calories in all our beverages on the front of the can or bottle as well as on our vending and fountain machines. This means that within two years, every time consumers touch one of our beverages they will have the calorie information at their fingertips.

Our industry also continues to innovate, bringing even more no- and low-calorie beverages to market to meet consumer demand.  In fact, since 1998, there has been a 21 percent reduction in calories in beverages in the marketplace due to this innovation.