On my drive to work this week, I noticed a new billboard off the freeway. It’s a Pepsi campaign with the slogan “Live For Now”. It shows beautiful, thin, young people enjoying themselves while drinking Pepsi.

All I can think of when I see this ad is “live for now” and “die early later”. Drinking soda has been shown to be one of the leading causes of our obesity epidemic. It’s just empty calories with a side of chemicals. While drinking soda in small quantities does not cause obesity, it is part of an unhealthy lifestyle. Drinking soda in large quantities, which Americans do on a regular basis, is a deadly serious problem.

“If we are serious about tackling the obesity crisis, cutting back soda consumption has to be the top priority,” Goldstein asserts. “Parents, communities, businesses and government all have a role to play in helping to reduce consumption. We cannot afford to raise another ‘Pepsi Generation.’” From the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

Maybe we should live for now, but realize that our actions today impact tomorrow. If we want to live a healthy tomorrow, why not drink water instead? It will hydrate you without adding empty calories you don’t need.

Here’s my parody of the ad.