Some Boston city councilors are pushing for a new city tax on soda and other sugary beverages that have been linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

City Councilor Sharon Durkan said this week that raising the price on sugary drinks would help reduce consumption -- while also generating millions in new revenue to support city programs.

She framed the proposal as a way to address the burden of diet-related diseases on low-income residents.

"This is not just a policy to regulate sugary drinks," said Durkan, who represents the Back Bay and surrounding neighborhoods. "It's a step towards a healthier, more equitable Boston."

The idea is modeled on policies in Philadelphia, Seattle and other cities, where researchers found that imposing a tax on the price of sugar-sweetened beverages corresponded with a drop in consumption.

The proposal is likely to be controversial among people opposed to new taxes, or leery of government policies designed to change behavior.

" I know there will be debates, and I welcome them," Durkan said at a City Council meeting Wednesday. "But it's worth having the conversation."

Councilor Julia Mejia said she supports the public health goals of a tax on sugary beverages but urged her colleagues to consider residents' feelings.

"A lot of people of color and low-income people already feel under attack," Mejia said. "People are telling them what they can eat, what they can drink. So I just want to make sure as we continue to have these conversations that we're being mindful of not minimizing how people feel about the situation."

Councilor Ed Flynn said he worries the policy would hurt small businesses. "It's not the right time to add more taxes," he said. "We need to support residents and not hit them with as many taxes as we have been."

A 2 cent-per-ounce tax would raise the price of a 20-ounce soda from about $2.40 to $2.80. Sugar-sweetened beverages also include energy drinks, fruit drinks and sports drinks that contain corn syrup, dextrose, fructose and other forms of sugar.

Sugary drinks are leading sources of added sugars in American diets, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and are associated with numerous health problems, including diseases of the heart, kidneys and liver.

Over-consumption of sugar is a major public health concern, said Parke Wilde, a food economist at Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. It "helps explain high rates of chronic disease in the United States," he said. "And it partly explains why the United States has lower life expectancies than some other rich countries."

Wilde said studies show strong evidence that taxes on sugary drinks reduce consumption. "If the price goes up 30%, the amount consumed goes down somewhere in the neighborhood of 30%," he said.

"These taxes have a high potential payoff and a high potential benefit," Wilde added. "I'm totally persuaded by that research. But that doesn't mean I'm naive about the opposition to taxes."

Boston city councilors plan to hold a hearing on the issue. A new city tax on sugary drinks would require approval from state lawmakers, in addition to city leaders.