A recent study (1) published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association has found that fizzy drink consumption in childhood (age 5) predicts an unhealthy pattern of eating, and poorer nutrient intakes, that persist during childhood and into adolescence. The children who consumed fizzy drinks at age 5 had diets that were higher in added sugars and lower in protein, fibre, calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium in later years. The authors of the study conclude that their (1)“Findings provide a more complex picture regarding the emergence of early beverage patterns and their predictive effects on nutrient intake across childhood and adolescence”.
The authors (1) set out to describe changes in beverage intake during childhood and to assess the links between beverage and nutrient intakes in girls ages 5 to 15 who were consuming, or not consuming, sweetened fizzy drinks at age 5. The study involved 170 girls who were followed for 10 years and assessed twice each year for those ten years. At each assessment the intake of drinks (milk, fruit juice, fruit drinks, fizzy drinks and tea/coffee), calories and nutrients was assessed using three 24 hour diet diaries. The links between the type of drink, age and diet was tracked. Girls were put into categories depending on whether they consumed fizzy drinks (soda) at age 5 or not (1).
The study revealed that (1) “Early differences in soda intake were predictive of later soda and milk intake and of differences in selected nutrients. Relative to girls who were not consuming soda beverages at age 5 years, soda consumers at age 5 years had higher subsequent soda intake, lower milk intake, higher intake of added sugars, lower protein, fiber, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium from ages 5 to 15 years”
The findings are significant because predictors of health are important, especially if they can be determined in early life. In a press release (2) the lead author of the study commented that the difference between the two groups (fizzy drink consumers and non-consumers) in nutrient intake is “not just because of what they are consuming, but because of what they are not consuming,”. Milk intake differed greatly between the two groups, soda drinkers drank far less milk than non-soda drinkers and milk has all of the nutrients that differed between the groups except fibre. “Adequate nutrient intake is important for optimal health and growth,” the researchers report (2). The soda drinkers had lower intakes of calcium and calcium is vital for bone health, and particularly vital in building strong bones early in life.
Interestingly the researchers found that both groups increased their soda consumption by the age of 15 but those who were drinking fizzy drinks at age 5 were consuming nearly twice as much at age 15 than those who were not drinking fizzy drinks at age 5. The authors also suggest that parental behaviour can have a ‘modelling’ effect on the children and that parents ungealthy eating habits can influence child nutrient patterns. It was found that parents of children who drank fizzy drinks had higher body mass indexes than non-soda drinkers’ parents. The study provides a clear link showing that soda can prevent people from maintaining a healthy diet (2).
Although the study does not prove specifically that drinking fizzy drinks at a young age is detrimental to health it does highlight the importance of balanced healthy eating at an early age to encourage healthful eating throughout a lifetime.
(1)Fiorito LM et al. 2010. Girls’ Early Sweetened Carbonated Beverage Intake Predicts Different Patterns of Beverage and Nutrient Intake across Childhood and Adolescence. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 110:543-550
(2)Press Release. Penn State (2010, June 8). Early consumption of soda indicator of unhealthy diet, study finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 9, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/06/100608135040.htm
Written by Ani Kowal
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