MATERNAL AND CHILDHOOD NUTRITION (AC WOOD, SECTION EDITOR) Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Child Health: Implications for Policy Shabnam R. Momin 1 & Alexis C. Wood 1 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018 Abstract Purpose of Review Various policies to reduce sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) consumption in children have been imple- mented. Here, we review the evidence on whether these policies are effective in reducing SSB intake and whether a reduction in SSB intake results in a concomitant reduction in child obesity. We also highlight ethical concerns with such efforts. Recent Findings The evidence supporting relationship between SSB consumption and child body mass index (BMI) is consis- tently small and lacks causality. The effects of policies are unclear; taxation has no clear relationship to SSB purchasing, innovative marketing outlets make it difficult to examine the effects of restricting marketing on SSB consumption, and there is no evidence that reducing SSB availability in schools decreases consumption. Summary Research studies with rigorous and reproducible study designs are needed to examine whether reducing SSB con- sumption reduces child obesity, and to identify implementable policies that not only reduce SSB consumption but also child weight. Keywords Sugar-sweetened beverage . Child obesity . Policies . Soda tax . Nutrition labeling . Food advertising . Food marketing . School nutrition . SSB consumption . Beverage consumption Introduction SSBs are defined by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as drinks including “regular soda, fruit drinks (including sweet- ened bottled waters and fruit juices and nectars with added sugars), sports and energy drinks, sweetened coffees and teas, and other sugar-sweetened beverages (including horchata and sugarcane beverages).” The prevalence of SSB consumption among infants and children and the amount of calories con- sumed from SSB has increased over the years [1, 2] and reached historical levels [3]. In efforts to tackle the increasing prevalence and cost of childhood obesity, SSBs have gained increased attention for its contribution to pediatric overweight and obesity due to the excess calories from sucrose (sugar) and/or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) combined with the low nutrient value. Specifically, SSBs have been the subject of much debate as to whether they play a role in pediatric overweight and obesi- ty. Under the assumptions that (1) SSBs contribute to over- weight and obesity in children; (2) reducing SSB consumption will reduce obesity risk in children; and (3) we have at our disposal effective means to reduce SSB consumption, bodies such as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) have supported the implementation of policies designed to reduce SSB consump- tion. Examples of such efforts include exerting a tax on SSBs, implementing policies that reduce SSB availability in schools, imposing legal restrictions on marketing SSBs, and enhancing the nutrition labels on SSBs. In this review, we will discuss the available evidence for the three assumptions detailed above, alongside considering the ethical implications of these public policies. Our goal is to synthesize and summarize recent research in such a manner that it is clear whether there is enough evidence to evaluate the potential impact of policies aimed at SSB consumption in reducing pediatric obesity. This article is part of the Topical Collection on Maternal and Childhood Nutrition * Shabnam R. Momin shabnam.momin@bcm.edu 1 USDA/ARS Children’ s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Street, Houston, TX 77030, USA Current Nutrition Reports https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-018-0249-7