Sugary Drinks and Child Obesity

Harvard= red
A sugary drink is defined as a beverage that is sweetened with
naturally-derived caloric sweeteners such as sucrose (table sugar) or
high fructose corn syrup(1). This high calorie beverages are popular
among children because their flavor and incredibly overwhelming
availability and marketing from the producers
( http://fewersugarydrinks.org/sugary.html)
The rising consumption of sugary drinks, such as soda, vitamin water,
fruit juices and sports drinks has been contributing to the increase in
children obesity.
One third of the children in the United States are overweight or obese.
Several studies have found that soft drinks contribute 7.1% of total
energy intake and represent the largest single food source of calories
in the American children .
parallels the increase in sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption.2
(http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=199296
The recent rise in soft drink consumption likely reflects the tremendous
resources directed at marketing these beverages. For example, the
largest manufacturers of soft drinks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and CadburySchweppes, spent over $850 million marketing their major sweetened
beverage brands in the United States in 2003 and were all among the
top 100 corporate spenders on advertising that year (12). Among
youth, mean daily intake of soft drinks more than doubled between
1977 and 1978 and 1994 and 1998, increasing from 5 to 13 oz among
boys and 5 to 11 oz among girls (8). Moreover, the proportions of youth
consuming soft drinks increased from 34% to 58% among boys and
36% to 63% among girls in the same time period
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002822306016956

Taste preference is a powerful contributor to high intake of sugars,

including sugar-sweetened beverages. The development of food
preferences in childhood is important because early preference
patterns have long-term influence on dietary intake later in life
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002822310012836)

High added sugar consumption in the form of sugar-sweetened

beverages is associated with a constellation of cardiovascular risk
factors, both independently and through the development of obesity. In
terms of obesity, a prevailing theory is that liquid energy is associated
with decreased satiety and incomplete compensatory reduction in
subsequent energy intake
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002822310012836)
Fast-food restaurant use is also on the rise and contributes to
increasing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among youth. Fastfood restaurants now supply about 22% of soft drinks consumed by
youth (8). Such restaurants are positively associated with energy
intake in youth (16) and, in a recent study, children who ate fast food
on a given day, compared to those who did not, consumed more
calories, fat, added sugars, and sugar-sweetened beverages, and fewer
servings of milk, fruits, and nonstarchy vegetables (17).
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002822306016956
No studies have examined misperceptions of sugar-sweetened
beverage consumption norms and their potential role in determining
students' personal sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Following
up on previous studies of substance use, this study hypothesized that
secondary students in all grades and school settings would tend to
overestimate sugar-sweetened beverage consumption of peers,
individual perceptions of peer sugar-sweetened beverage consumption
norms would be associated with personal consumption after controlling
for actual local norms, and the association between the perceived peer
norm and personal sugar-sweetened beverage consumption would be
stronger than any association between actual norms or socialdemographic variables and personal sugar-sweetened beverage
consumption.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002822310014847

conditions. (3 (4) A typical 20-ounce soda contains 15 to 18 teaspoons

of sugar and upwards of 240 calories. A 64-ounce fountain cola drink
could have up to 700 calories. (5)
People who drink this liquid candy do not feel as full as if they had
eaten the same calories from solid food and do not compensate by
eating less. (6)

Conclusion
Children are the future and tomorrows adult population and their
health is extremely important.
he article by Reedy and Krebs-Smith in this issue of the Journal ( 8)
reports high consumption of empty calories in contemporary American
children with added sugars as a major contributor in that category.
High added sugar consumption, which occurs most commonly in the
form of sugar-sweetened beverages, is associated with a constellation
of cardiovascular risk factors, both independently and through the
development of obesity. Multiple studies have shown that presence of
these risk factors in childhood is associated with accelerated
atherosclerosis and early cardiovascular disease. Randomized trials of
nutritionist-guided interventions show us that diet change can be
accomplished and is associated with important cardiovascular benefits.
This combined body of evidence suggests that reducing consumption
of sugar-sweetened beverages should be considered a critical dietary
approach to reducing cardiovascular risk in childhood.