Health warning labels on sodas are being considered by some United States cities and states, and a new Harvard study shows that they could help to lower sales of sugary drinks. It included an online survey that warned parents about the negative effects of soft drinks, including tooth decay, obesity, and diabetes.

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The survey included almost 2,400 parents with young children who were shown one of six images of soda containers. One image of a sugary-sweetened beverage (SSB) container had no warning label. Another label showed the number of calories, and the other four warned about health problems that the popular beverages could cause.

Parents in the survey were required to choose among 20 beverages. Twelve of them were classified as SSBs because they contained at least 75 calories of added sugars, such as sodas and juice drinks, according to CNN. The other eight drinks were water and less sugary juices.

The study was conducted by the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University. It was published in Pediatrics by Dr. Christina Roberto and her research team.

Around 40 percent of the parents chose the sugar-sweetened drinks for their kids when it showed one of the warning labels. However, 53 percent chose sodas when they contained a caloric content label, and 60 percent selected a soda container with no label, according to MedPage Today.

The warning label group also reported that they wanted to get fewer SSB discount coupons. They also shared they were less likely to buy soft drinks in the future.

San Francisco passed a law last year that requires soft drink advertisements to include a warning label. However, Dr. Roberto's team noted that the new law has not been implemented due to a lawsuit.

Various recent studies have spotlighted the health effects of sugary drinks. For example, they have linked SSBs to a worse overall diet.

Researchers are looking for effective ways to decrease people's soda drinking. They include reducing the amount of sugar in SSBs and adding new taxes.

The New York Times reported last October that sales of full-calorie soft drinks in the U.S. have dropped by over one-quarter during the last two decades. This followed rocketing sales from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Here are the effects of soda on a boiled egg: