Part II in a two-part series
When it comes to your health are sugary drinks really Public Enemy Number One?
About 100 medical, health and consumer groups, city public health departments and prominent individuals think so.
They're calling on the U.S. Surgeon General to investigate the health effects of soda and other sugary drinks similar to the one on tobacco in the 1960s.
In a July 19, 2012 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling for an investigation, the groups write, “Soda and other sugary drinks are the only food or beverage that has been directly linked to obesity, a major contributor to coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers, and a cause of psychosocial problems. Yet, each year, the average American drinks about 40 gallons of sugary drinks, all with little, if any, nutritional benefit.”
Studies clearly show since the 1950, Americans have been consuming sugary drinks more often and in greater quantities than ever before.
Consumption of carbonated soft drinks rose by more than 450 percent, from 10.8 gallons per year per person in 1946 to 49.2 gallons per year per person in 2000. (3)
As consumption rates climb so does our weight and incidences of obesity-related health risks, according to scores of studies.
Here are 10 ways guzzling sugary drinks are negatively impacting our health:
1. A 20-year study on 120,000 men and women, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that people who increased their sugary drink consumption by one 12-ounce serving per day gained more weight over time — on average, an extra pound every 4 years — than people who did not change their intake.
Other studies have found a significant link between sugary drink consumption and weight gain in children. One study found that for each additional 12-ounce soda children consumed each day, the odds of becoming obese increased by 60 percent during 18 months of follow-up. (3)
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Great job with educating people how bad these drinks are for your teeth and overall health.
Marielaina Perrone DDS
October 6, 2012 - 10:39amThis Comment