Sugary Drinks and Child ObesityHarvard= 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 Cadbury-Schweppes, 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 periodhttp://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. Fast-food 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 social-demographic 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)

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ConclusionChildren 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.