"In the US, states like New York have already started heavier taxes on drinks like soda, which provides zero nutritional value."

The one in Philly really seems to have backfired. They ran off the Coke and Pepsi jobs right away, and since it also applies to flavored water, some products like Propel Flavored Water saw price increases of around two-thirds after tax.

The only real solution here is politically unpalatable and would involve neither subsidizing nor assisting in the resolution of the "consequences" of individual obesity. I suspect, at least US, politicians will instead take the increasingly regressive route of taxes and prohibition.