Battle over Sugar at the State Capitol

Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

According to Hawaii News Now, Hawaii Public Health Institute representatives met for a briefing at the state capitol about childhood obesity.

Together, they outlined, four priorities for the upcoming year. The first three will include:

1. Safety warnings on sugar-sweetened beverages.
2. Making healthy drinks the default option on kids' menus.
3. A mandatory physical examination of 7th graders.
4. One cent fee per ounce of sugar-sweetened beverage, syrup or powder. (Fees collected to be allocated for combating childhood obesity).

These are mainly proposals, nothing has been drafted into legislation as of yet.