Sugary Drinks and Childhood Obesity

I gave a lot of presentations this week about making healthy choices and avoiding sugary drinks. Sugary drinks are defined as sugary sodas, sports drinks, iced teas, juice drinks, vitamin waters, and energy drinks.

I must be doing something right. After I did a presentation at one school, the kids went home and hid their Dad's soda (he was not happy). Another child went home and said "Mom, I need to switch to 1% milk". Another child went home and educated his whole family about how much sugar was in their soda. His parents were shocked and the child was so pleased that he knew something that they did not know! There is a quote that I love - and I am paraphrasing - but it is something like "you aren't making change unless people are mad at you". I know these parents so it was extra amusing.

Last week I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Harold Goldstein, the Executive Director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, talk about a new advocacy initiative called Kick the Can which specifically targets sugary drinks and their huge role in the childhood obesity epidemic http://www.kickthecan.info/.

I know that it is not new information for most people that sugary drinks are unhealthy. Frankly it is one thing for adults to be drinking soda (though your kids are watching you!) who are capable of understanding the health consequences, but it is quite another to deliberately market these products, which are proven to be harmful, to children.
 
Dr. Goldstein shared 8 reasons why focusing on sugary drinks can make a large impact in improving childhood obesity.

1. the large amounts of sugar (obvious)
2. the fact that these drinks are consumed in such massive quantities (Americans drink 45 gallons of sugary drinks per year)
3. the proven link between sugary drinks and obesity and diabetes
• 41% of kids ages 2-11 drink a soda a day
• 62% of teens drink a soda a day
• this is an extra 175 calories a day = 15 extra pounds a year
• every additional soda increases the risk of diabetes by 60%
4.  there are absolutely no nutritional benefits- soda is merely a sugar delivery device
5. offers poor calorie compensation - it does not make you feel full so it becomes ADDED to calories to what is already consumed as food
6. causes tooth decay
7. mostly marketed to children
8. The beverage environment has changed (change in soda size)
• 6.5 oz. in 1920
• 12oz. in 1960
• 20 oz. 1990's

Eliminating sugary drinks is not the only solution to childhood obesity. There are many causes and many solutions. I work with plenty of families that don't drink a lot of soda, and still have weight problems. But this campaign should urge all of us (schools, community centers, sport teams, our homes, scouting events, after care programs and after-school activities)   to take a good look at the unhealthy environments our society has created for kids. How can we ask our children make healthy choices when the environment around them is so contrary to these efforts? We go to school and have class parties and birthday parties. After school there are playdates which for some reason are so special that cookies and juice drinks have to be served. Then we drink sport drinks after soccer practice and games, and we eat dessert after dinner. It feels like there are red light foods everywhere!

If we are truly going to make an impact in reversing this epidemic which is causing our kids to be at risk for major health problems, and more depressed, stressed out, and tired, then we need to focus on creating environments that are making it easier for them to make healthy choices, not more difficult.