All of us know the repercussions of added sugar and carbonated drinks. Yet more and more parents are allowing their babies to drink fizzy drinks that can be extremely harmful to them. A recent study spanned 107 countries and regions to understand the link between soft drinks and obesity among adolescents. Publishing their findings in JAMA Open Network, their research revealed that indeed, 'evidence suggests that reducing soft drink consumption should be a priority in combating adolescent overweight and obesity.'
Soft Drinks Cause Obesity
The study stated that in the last few decades, soft drinks have been commonplace, as more and more people are drinking fizzy drinks with added sugars, in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries.
This has led to an increase in the number of children, adolescents, and adults who are overweight or obese. The World Health Organisation announced last year that across the world, 340 million adolescents and 39 million children are obese. They claimed that this number is increasing every day, so much so that by 2025, 167 million adults and children will be overweight or obese.
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Based on their findings, the JAMA study attributed 12% of the increase in global obesity and overweight rate to soft drink consumption. Their study found that for every 10% increase in the rates of daily soft drink consumption among adolescent students, the rates of obesity went up by 3.7%.
Drawing conjectures on why soft drink consumption increases weight gain, the researchers said:
- Consuming fizzy drinks with high levels of added sugar, leads to excess intake of energy, promoting weight gain.
- Additionally, soft drinks can decrease satiety and result in an incomplete energy intake compensation at subsequent meals following ingestion of liquid calories, which can consequently lead to weight gain.
- Another study led by the University Of Michigan reported that fizzy drinks are addictive because they quickly deliver sugars into our system, similar to drugs that affect the brain rapidly. This addiction can cause an overconsumption of soft drinks, ultimately causing weight gain.
The study concluded that 'reducing soft drink consumption should be a prioritised approach for curbing the pandemic of overweight and obesity among adolescents.' They let out a plea to policymakers and regulatory authorities, warning that soft drink companies are stepping up their marketing game, which puts many adolescent students in the line of fire, increasing soft drink consumption and obesity rates.