Beverage companies pledge to fight obesity

get from beverages by 20 percent until 2025 by marketing smaller sizes, bottled water and diet drinks. The announcement was made at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City on 23 September 2014 and comes as the country’s three biggest soft drink makers face pressure over the role of sugary drinks in fueling obesity rates.

In many ways, the commitment only follows recent market trends: People have been moving away from carbonated soft drinks on their own for several years. In response, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been pushing smaller cans and bottles, which tend to be more profitable and are positioned as a way to control portions. They’ve also rolled out flavoured versions of Dasani and Aquafina, respectively, as demand for bottled water has grown.

Between 2000 and 2013, market observers estimate that the calorie intake people got from soft drinks fell by 12 percent.