According to a 2020 report from the Athens City-County Health Department, 34.9% of Athens County residents are considered obese, including over half of all adult residents. In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 38.1% of Ohioans were obese.
One major cause for obesity, especially in children, is the consumption of soda and other sugary drinks. Data from the United Health Foundation from 2021 said 9.4% of high school students in Ohio reported drinking a can, bottle or glass of soda two or more times per day in the last week.
Ohio’s government officials seek to tackle this problem by restricting the kinds of food those on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can purchase…