Relation between sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity
Are these results such a big surprise? Not only to soft drinks add additional, empty calories, but they also replace needed drinks and calories such as water, fruits and vegetables. Couple this with a lack of physical activity and our “mysterious” obesity epidemic is not so hard to believe. It still get my blood pressure up to see toddlers with soda in their sippie cups. I firmly believe that no child should even be exposed to these types of drinks until at least 8 years of age (if ever). That includes such sugar laden drinks such as Sunny Delight and Hi-C.
Lancet 2001; 357: 505-08 The prevalence of obesity among children in USA increased by 100% between 1980 and 1994. Recent national estimates indicate that 24% and 11% of children are above the 85th and 95th reference percentiles of body mass index (BMI), for age and sex, respectively. Various environmental and social factors relating to diet and physical activity have been identified that could contribute to obesity. One such factor, which has received little attention, is the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks. According to data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), per capita soft-drink consumption has increased by almost 500% over the past 50 years. From 1989-91 to 1994-95, soft-drink intake rose from 195 to 275 mL in the general population, and from 345 to 570 mL among adolescent boys. Half of all Americans and most adolescents (65% girls and 74% boys) consume soft drinks daily, most of which are sugar-sweetened, rather than artificially sweetened. Currently, soft drinks constitute the leading source of added sugars in the diet, amounting to 36·2 g daily for adolescent girls and 57·7 g for boys. These figures approach or exceed the daily limits for total added sugar consumption recommended by the USDA. Although this increase in soft-drink consumption coincides with secular increases in obesity prevalence in children, the long-term effects of sugar-sweetened drink consumption on measures of body weight need to be prospectively examined. We aimed to determine the association between change in sugar-sweetened drink consumption and change in BMI, and incidence of obesity among school-age children, over 2 academic years. Interpretation: Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks is associated with obesity in children.