Kids Gulp 2 to 4 Cans of Soda or Fruit Drinks a Day

Previously, I reported that a Tufts University researcher found that soda and sweet drinks are the biggest source of of calories for most Americans.

Another research paper (or “Invited Commentary” titled “Are soft drinks a scapegoat for childhood obesity?” in the May Journal of Pediatrics) revealed that U.S. adolescents swig down, on average, nearly two 12-ounce servings per day or the equivalent of 20 teaspoons of sugar and 300 calories.

But a quarter of all teens drink even more — chugging as many as four servings of sugary drinks a day or 40 teaspoons of sugar and 600 calories.

They also found that “sweetened soft drinks amount to 40% of all added sugars in a child’s diet and with the addition of fruit drinks, more than 50%.”

But the dilemma is that people tend to mindlessly gulp down sugary beverages. Instead they focus on how many calorie-rich, sugary foods they’re eating.

“Liquid calories like this, I think we tend to just ignore them,” Dr. Murray told Science News.. “That’s a lot of calories. That’s 600 calories. That’s like an additional meal.”

So for a teenage girl, who should be consuming around 1,800 calories a day, that’s really a third of her daily energy requirement “taken in the form of just one food — soft drinks,” Dr. Murray noted.

In their study, Dr. Murray’s team found that “soft drinks are not the root cause of obesity” but that curbing consumption will be “one of the most important strategies” in preventing and combating it.

Just think about it. All a typical teen needs to do is keep accurate track of her or his count, then cut back by about one-fourth (or cut it out totally), and the chances of obesity and other health problems are diminished.

Makes perfect sense, right?