We’ve always known that water is good for our health, but could we actually tackle obesity with water ? Doctors Oz and Roizen has the answer, plus they tell us why we should skip bottled water!
Watering down the obesity epidemic — in a good way!
The 2009 documentary “Tapped” looks at megacompanies that repackage municipal water and sell it to you in gussied-up plastic bottles for a huge profit, when you could filter your tap water and get a just as healthy (or healthier) beverage for almost nothing!
Clearly Americans still haven’t figured this out: Each one of you drank about 39 gallons of bottled water last year, using and throwing out 50 billion plastic water bottles in the process!
That’s why we praised the New York City school system for its “water with lunch” campaign that brought large water dispensers (not bottled water) into some public schools: We knew that it would mean kids would consume fewer calorie-laden beverages, drink more water (so important for a healthy metabolism) and eliminate plastic bottles. Win, win, win.
Well, the data on the test run is in. Researchers from the University of Illinois have done a cost-benefit analysis of that campaign and found:
Expanding the program to public and private schools nationwide can prevent more than 500,000 youngsters from becoming overweight or obese and trim down medical costs associated with kids’ weight-related problems.
Making water with lunch available to every K-12 student today would cost only about $18 per pupil! And the net benefit to society? $13 billion over those students’ lifetime.
So talk to your local school board and PTA about installing fresh water dispensers in all cafeterias; and stop serving sugar-added beverages of any kind at home! Concerned about water quality? Use an easy-to-install, on-tap water filter.
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Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare.com.
(c) 2017 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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