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EDITORIAL: Pass the Water: Studies Find Sodas, Sugary Drinks Leading Cause of Obesity.

Posted on: Monday, 13 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Mar. 13--News reports last week said researchers had found that drinking sodas and other sugar-sweetened drinks isn't just a symptom of obesity, but actually causes it.

Not that these drinks are the only cause -- genetics, exercise and other factors are involved -- but that they are one cause, perhaps the leading cause.

This shouldn't come as news to anyone.

Each 12-ounce soda contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar. Carbonated drinks are the single biggest source of refined sugars in the American diet.

They are also the fifth largest source of calories for adults. One study directly correlated the amount of sugared-sodas children drank and their fatness, while finding no such association with diet soft drinks.

Researchers found that women drinking one or more sugar-sweetened soft drinks a day were twice as likely to develop diabetes as women who drank fewer than one a month.

Soda sales have been eliminated from our schools. Lawmakers made California the first state in the nation to ban the sale of soft drinks in middle and elementary schools in 2003. A bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in September will expand that ban to include high schools.

The former bodybuilding champion and fitness expert said the new rules are all part of an effort to fight childhood obesity.

That's a good step toward fixing the problem.

But where do we think our children learn this habit?

As adults, we need to set a better example and cut the sodas out of our own diets.

Drink water instead of soda -- it might even help you to get healthier in other ways.

Barry Popkin, a researcher at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, examined dietary patterns of 9,500 American adults in a federal study from 1999-2002. He found that those who drank healthier beverages -- water, low-fat milk, unsweetened coffee or tea -- were more likely to eat vegetables and less likely to eat fast food.

So ditch the soda, and pass the water. Your body will thank you in the long run.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Fresno Bee

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