The kickoff event for the Soda Free Summer campaign made a good case for avoiding the sweet and fizzy stuff.

Half of all adults and nearly a quarter of all children in the Bay Area are affected by obesity. This could be the first generation that does not live as long as its parents, said Dr. Scott Gee of Kaiser Permanente, one of the campaign’s co-sponsors, in Oakland, Calif. on June 4.

Soda has a lot to do with the problem. Check out the 68 grams of sugar in a 20-ounce Coke:

His father has diabetes, said spokesperson Robert Corpus. He said having soda in the refrigerator is like living with the enemy.

Everything from Yoplait yogurt to energy drinks have heaps of sugar:



By not drinking one soda per day, kids could lose much of their extra weight, according to presenters from the Bay Area Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC).

“A person can lose 25 pounds in a year by switching to water instead of drinking a 20-ounce soda a day,” says Dr. Amor Santiago, director of Healthy Silicon Valley and chair of BANPAC.

Thousands of Bay Areans have signed a commitment to have a soda-free summer. Sign up and learn more about the campaign here.