Soft drinks are one of the major sources of added sugar, according to the Institute of Medicine. Sodas, energy drinks, sweetened teas and fruit-flavored beverages add calories to your diet, but offer little in the way of nutrition. The primary ingredient in these drinks is sugar, usually high fructose corn syrup or cane sugar.
Significance
Americans drink four times as much soda as they do milk, according to CNN in September 2007. As this trend has occurred, the country's obesity rate has doubled, and among teenagers is has tripled. The Center for Science in the Public Interest notes that from 1999 to 2002, soda made up about 11 percent of teens' daily calorie intake.
Expert Recommendations
The American Heart Association recommends you consume just 6 added tsp. of sugar daily if you are a woman and nine daily if you are a man. One can of soda contains an average of 8 tsp. of sugar with no nutrition. The Association advises you limit consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages to 450 calories or fewer per week -- about three 12-oz. sodas.
Evidence
A study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in October 2005 evaluated more than 116,000 women's sugared drink consumption habits and the effects on their health. Researchers found that women who drank an average of one soda or fruit punch daily had an increased risk of weight gain and development of type 2 diabetes. The sugars in soft drinks are rapidly absorbed, which makes them more likely to cause these outcomes, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention researchers.
Misconceptions
Many soda companies are marketing that their products contain real sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup. Regardless of which product is used, the soft drinks still contain a significant number of calories with little or no nutrition. While diet sodas and drinks are a sugar-free, calorie-free alternative, an April 2009 issue of "Diabetes Care" published a study showing a correlation between daily diet soda intake and a 67 percent greater risk of type 2 diabetes as well as a 36 percent greater risk of developing a condition known as metabolic syndrome, which is a precursor to many health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes.
Considerations
Although you consume calories in the sugar from soft drinks, these do not contribute to feelings of satiation. You may, as a result, take in more calories overall when consuming sugary drinks. Sugary drinks may also trigger cravings for foods and cause you to eat more than you would if you did not consume the soft drinks, notes registered dietitian Nancy Clark. Fast food restaurants and movie theaters provide gargantuan-sized servings of soda pop that you may not even realize contain 500 to 700 calories per serving.
References
- Circulation: Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health
- Center for Science in the Public Interest: How Soft Drinks are Harming American's Health
- Boston.com: The Sugar in Soda
- "Diabetes Care;" Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Is Associated With Weight Gain and Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes; Jean Welsh et al; October 2005
- Pub Med.gov: Diet Soda Intake and Risk of Incident Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis
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