PRIISM’s Drs. Beth Weitzman and Tod Mijanovich are part of a new team of investigators working on “The Influence of Sugary Beverage Taxes on Fast Food Restaurant Purchases: An Evaluation Using National Sales Data” study, an NYU Grossman School of Medicine (SOM) grant led by principal investigator Dr. Brian Elbel. Dr. Elbel's team was awarded over $2 million for the study by the National Institutes of Health.

Prior research has indicated that sugar-sweetened beverages represent a significant contributor to overall calorie consumption and nutritionally-based health problems. Taxing sugar sweetened beverages is one policy lever used to try to reduce consumption of such beverages. Seven localities had implemented such taxes as of last spring. In this study, Drs. Weitzman and Mijanovich will work with an evaluation team in NYU SOM's department of population health to study the impact of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes on changes in prices paid and calories consumed in fast food restaurants. They will also examine how these changes may vary according to neighborhood characteristics.