A group of major soda companies have agreed to reduce calories in their products by 20% by 2025.According to a WCVB.com story, the companies include the American Beverage Association, The Coca-Cola Co., Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, and PepsiCo. The group came to an agreement with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation in an effort to improve the nation's health and to promote a better diet among the youth.

It doesn't seem the companies plan to accomplish this by changing ingredients however, which could be for the better to avoid more chemicals in our drinks. The plan is to shrink the portion sizes of soda while promoting healthier products, like water and other low-calorie drinks.

While this might seem like an inadequate effort in changing obesity rates in America, you might want to reconsider the power of advertising. These companies became some of the best selling products around the world through investing big bucks in ads, so why couldn't they convince you to do something good for yourself?

The soda industry also plans on launching an education campaign with calorie counts and other "calorie awareness" information on vending machines, self-serve fountain dispensers, and coolers in stores and restaurants.

Even though I'm not a soda drinker at all, I still think it's a step in the right direction that these companies are voluntarily changing their ways albeit slowly, for the better of America.

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