Consumption
of sweet soda and fruit drinks in the US has more than doubled
since the 1970s
(AFP/File, Paul J. Richards)
|
WASHINGTON
— Three new studies published in the United States this weekend reaffirm a link
between sweet soda and fruit drinks to an epidemic of obesity that is sweeping
the US.
Consumption
of these drinks has more than doubled since the 1970s, and the rate of obesity
among Americans during the same period reached 30% of the adult population,
said the authors of a study published online by the New England Journal of
Medicine.
The first
study, which involved more than 33,000 American men and women, showed that
drinking sugary drinks was affecting genes that regulate weight and increased
the genetic predisposition of a person to gain weight.
The
researchers used 32 variations of genes known to affect the weight to establish
a genetic profile of the participants. They also determined the participants'
eating habits, their consumption of sweetened beverages and exercise practices.
The other
two studies showed that giving to children and adolescents calorie-free drinks
like mineral water or soft drinks sweetened with artificial sweeteners resulted
in weight loss.
The first
was conducted at Children's Hospital Boston, which examined 224 overweight adolescents
who were encouraged to consume water or light sodas for a year.
These teens
gained only 0.68 kilograms of weight during this period compared to 1.5
kilograms in another group that consumed sugary drinks.
Yet another
study was conducted by researchers at the VU University Amsterdam (the
Netherlands) and involved 641 children aged 4 to 11.
Half of the
group drank sweet and fruity drinks while the other half the same drinks with
sugarless sweeteners.
After 18
months, children who consumed the low-calorie drinks gained 6.39 kilograms on
average compared to 7.36 kilograms in the group that drank sugary fruit drinks.
"Taken
together, these three studies suggest that calories from sugar-sweetened
beverages do matter," said Doctor Sonia Caprio of Yale University writing
in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"These
randomized, controlled studies ... provide a strong impetus to develop
recommendations and policy decisions to limit consumption of sugar-sweetened
beverages, especially those served at low cost and in excessive portions, to
attempt to reverse the increase in childhood obesity," she added.
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