The Sweetened Beverage Debate

We have been hearing about the cons of sugary drinks for several years now. How the impact of sugary drinks could be one of the major causes of this countries increasing obesity. However, not everyone is on board with this debate. Some people do not see what the big deal is. We often hear “why can’t we have our sodas and juices?”

I met a grandmother the other day that was complaining about how her daughter-in-law will not allow her kids to have more than one sugary drink per day. I applaud this woman. But her mother-in-law had a very big problem with this rule. She was the type that you could not reason with. She said, “look at my kids, they grew up on soda and juices and they are fine!”

However, the problem is that thirty or forty years ago, there were no 16-ounce or larger sizes. So if children during these times did have sugary drinks, it was probably in much smaller amounts. Then the 80s came. The era of excessiveness – everything was much bigger: bigger hair, bigger clothes, bigger cars, and of course bigger portions.

New research that came to light last week proves that sugary drinks may be the culprits in our ever-growing waistlines. The Harvard School of Public Health along with a host of well-known nutrition related doctors and researchers conducted a meta-analysis to provide more evidence against sugary drinks. The research proved that removing sugary drinks from the diet could be the first line of defense in weight loss. The study used research from gold-standard randomized clinical trials only. The trials showed that children experienced a decrease in BMI when sugary drinks were reduced. Conversely, adults experienced an increase in BMI when sugary drinks were added to their diet. Furthermore, the results showed that for every 12-ounce sugary drink that was added to the diet over the span of a year, BMI increased by 0.06 units, which equates to about .25 – .50 lb.

I wish research like this could be posted on huge billboards across America. The word is out and has been out for a while, but people are not taking it seriously. Research like this can help educate people further on the importance of cutting portions, or eliminating sugary drinks once and for all.

The good news is that this message is reaching some. USA Today published an article last week stating, “Fewer school districts promote junk food, soda”. Finally, a step in the right direction! The article went on to explain how fewer school districts are accepting money from soda companies and banning junk food in vending machines. The percentages are decreasing. Fewer school districts also are accepting donations and advertising money from soda and junk food companies.

Let’s keep this movement going and maybe, just maybe, we can begin to see our waistlines slimming.

Your turn to take action:  What will you do this week to promote this message? I challenge you to drink one less soda or sugar-sweetened drink this week.  Share your success in the comments below.

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