In a commentary entitled “Are soft drinks a scapegoat for childhood obesity?” by Robert Murray, MD, Barbara Frankowski, MD, PhD, and Hoard Taras, MD, AAP, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 146, Number 5 (May 2005), the link between soft drink consumption and childhood obesity is explored.
Through a review of prior research the authors provide perspective on the role of soft drinks in childhood obesity. They found that, although no single factor can be seen as a direct cause, ther is a correlation between the consumption of soft drinks and the risk of childhood obesity.
The issue of childhood obesity is increasingly important. Estimates show that 25% of children that are obese suffer from glucose intolerance, and that children diagnosed with type II diabetes at the age of ten may lose 17-26 life-years to the disease.
Children and young people in the US, where the research was conducted, have a high intake of soft drinks. According to Dr. Murray a typical teenager drinks two 12oz cans of soft drink a day. This is equal to 300 calories and 20 teaspoons of sugar. The recommended daily allowance of added sugars is 10% of calories, whereas in children’s diets the added sugars count for 18-20% of calories. Of this, the researchers found, 43% of the total added sugars come from soft drinks and sweetened fruit drinks.
A concern is that children and young people tend to prefer soft drinks over milk, water or fruit juices. In addition 1/3 of their daily calorie intake comes from food with few nutrients and that are energy-dense. This makes nutritional deficiencies another concern in children’s diets.
One area identified by the researchers as leaving room for improvement is schools. Despite a warning from the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on School Health that drinking soft drinks at school can lead to obesity, a large number of schools have contracts with a soft drink company, and many of these either receive incentives from the company or percentages from the sale of soft drinks.
The article recommends supplying healthier beverages to school kids and focus on breakfast and lunch schemes as well as physical activity. Dr. Murray suggests that altering energy calorie gap by 100 calories a day (the equivalent of one 8oz serving of soft drink) will prevent excessive weight gain in most Americans.
