USING FOOD STAMPS TO IMPROVE DIETS

Prohibiting the use of food stamps to purchase sugar-sweetened beverages and using them to subsidize the purchase of fruits and vegetables would improve nutrition, foster weight loss, and drive down rates of Type 2 diabetes among the program's 47.6 million recipients, according to a new study. Doing so might also save taxpayers untold future savings in Medicaid-funded care of diabetes and other obesity-related ills among SNAP recipients. The study estimates that over 10 years, the average SNAP recipient would lose 1.15 pounds as a result of prohibiting sugary beverages. This means (1) about 422,000 people would not become obese and (2) 240,000 SNAP recipients would not be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

 

Source: LA Times, 6/4/14, Changing SNAP Diets