Adolescents consuming more sugary drinks

Consumption of sugary drinks among adolescents has increased by 8 percent even as younger children consumer fewer of the beverages, a new study has found.

Only 19 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds drink a sugary beverage daily, according to the study which was based on interviews with 40,000 California households by the California Health Interview Survey. That’s a 30 percent decline from the last such survey in 2005-2007. About 32 percent of 6 to 11 year olds consume a sugary drink daily, a 26 percent decline from the earlier period.
Adolescents, however, are drinking more sugary drinks, with 65 percent consuming one daily, an 8 percent increase from 2007. Most of this increase comes from a climb in the number of kids drinking sugary sport drinks daily.
“California has made real progress in reducing the consumption of sugary beverages among young children,”  Dr. Susan Babey, the report’s lead author, said in a statement. “But teens are in trouble. Soda or sports drinks should be an occasional treat, not a daily habit. If this trend isn’t reversed there may be costly consequences for teens, their families and the health care system in the form of increased obesity and diabetes.”
The study, which also provides county-by-county youth consumption rates, was produced collaboratively by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA).
See the full study here.
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