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Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Child Health
It's summer and already thermometers have registered a record heat wave. Air conditioners are blasting and cold beverages are in high demand. At the Frontline spoke with Y. Claire Wang, MD, ScD, assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at the Mailman School and lead author of a study that found that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are an increasingly large part of children and teens' diets, to discuss the affects beverage choices have on child health issues.
What are SSBs?
SSBs are sugar-sweetened beverages. During the study period from 1988 to 2004, 92 percent of SSBs consumed by children and youth consisted of soda (55 percent) and fruit punches. Sports drinks represent the fastest growing category, with an increase of threefold among adolescents.
Who drinks SSBs?
The study showed that over-consumption of sugary beverages is widespread. Eighty-four percent of teens consume SSBs on a typical day, a significant increase from ten years earlier. Rates in children younger than age 11 have also increased from the previous decade-children ages six to 11 consumed 20 percent more calories from sugar-sweetened beverages. The study also noted a more rapid increase in SSB consumption among Black and Mexican-American youth.
Are there health issues associated with consumption of these beverages?
Mounting evidence suggests that the excess calories from consuming sugar-sweetened beverages contributes to childhood obesity. A typical U.S. teen who consumes SSBs on a given day drinks an average of 356 calories per day—a typical adolescent male would need to jog for an hour or walk for more than three hours to burn off these excess calories. Moreover, SSBs are associated with diabetes precursors in children and an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes in adults. SSBs also cause dental decay.
Is there a childhood obesity epidemic in the U.S.?
Yes, approximately one-in-three children and teens are overweight and 16 percent are reported as obese. Studies suggest that the obesity rates may be leveling off, but childhood obesity rates remain more than triple the rates recorded in the 1960s and 1970s. The pace at which young people are becoming overweight is alarming.
What advice would you give parents, teens, and policy-makers?
Reducing "empty calories" by limiting these drinks may be a key strategy for promoting optimal energy balance and healthy eating and preventing excess weight gain. Parents, school administrators, policy-makers, and leaders in the restaurant and beverage industry can all play an important role in reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption since children are consuming these beverages in a variety of locations-homes, schools, fast food establishments, and other restaurants. Most of the sugar-sweetened beverage consumption (55 to 70 percent) occurs in the home environment, whereas seven to 15 percent of consumption occurs in schools.
Be conscious of the energy gap. It is important to maintain a balance between the calories children take in each day and the calories they expend to support normal growth, physical activity, and body function. Parents, pediatricians, and schools can all contribute to form an environment for children to eat healthy and be physically active.
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