Experiment Details

A girl walked into a gas station. No it’s not the start of a joke, but what I did the other day. I felt awkward and lost as I made my way to the large refrigerators.  I found myself stopped in front of the rows and columns of pop in varying sizes, colors, and bottle shapes.  I had a mission so I stayed put trying to find just the right pop for my experiment. And as I stood there I felt like everyone in the entire gas station was staring at me. Most people would not think twice about a young girl in her twenties cruising the pop section. But as mentioned before I felt so awkward and lost. Pop is not something that hits the counters of our kitchen often unless we’re feeling sick and buy ginger ale. Even then, we buy the organic natural ginger ale from Giant Eagle. I was in a whole different world.

I was actually excited about the ban on pop that the City Board of Health in New York had proposed. Unfortunately it was recently denied by New York State’s highest court on June 26, 2014. This ban would prohibit the sale of pop in greater than 16 ounces quantities. I remember listening to this proposal on the radio a year ago as well as the influx of arguing that followed. People argued that it was a proposal against the freedom of Americans. They argued that people should know when to stop drinking pop and should be responsible for their own diet.  This is great advice for those who are able to say no, but what about those with disordered eating whether its binge eating, EDNOS, or a food obsessions?  But on the other hand, some, along with myself cheered the proposal as an effort to reduce the obesity epidemic. In the end it was a victory for the food industry when the proposal was denied. It was decided that the City Board of Health was exceeding its authority.

Pop is the largest consumed beverage in the United States currently. People drink 44.7 gallons a year individually. This amount is equal to 375 pounds a year. Is it any wonder that American’s waist line is larger than ever? It is great to learn, though, that compared to 2005 Americans drank 6.8 gallons less of pop a year and consumed 3 gallons more water. So we are on the road to recovery, which is great as we see the obesity epidemic climb. Positive things are coming out of little changes such as replacing pop with water. And maybe the prediction that the children alive today will not outlive their parents will be a thing of the past. I know as well as many others that we can never completely fix this world, but its great to see some type of positivity occurring. This reduction in pop is not because of a lack of trying by the food industry. I just recently heard a commercial for Coke on the radio. The advertising ploy this time, “Find your name on a Coke this summer!” Standing at Wal-Mart near the Coke display I saw two young girls frantically searching for their name. The laughter and fun enjoyed by these girls seemed somewhat odd to be had over a display of pop. But they did have a good time. And the food industry knows that it can connect good experiences with pop. So when you go to a baseball game, movie, carnival, or other places people search out pop because they have been conditioned quite brilliantly.

All of this led to my desire to conduct this experiment.  What happens to bones when emerged in pop compared to milk? What would be the outcome after a few weeks? Does pop consumption increase risk for osteopenia or even worse, full blown osteoporosis? What ingredients in each product created the final outcome? People have probably heard of this experiment before and if you have just let me have my fun. It was something that I wanted to really see for myself. Please follow up in a few weeks for the results of the experiment!

(Source: New York Times & Huffington Post)