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January 7, 2004
Pediatricians Against Fizzy Drinks
On Monday we told you how the media over-hyped a study (appearing in the journal Pediatrics) that attempted to blame childhood obesity on fast food. It turns out that the journal's publisher, the American Association of Pediatrics, announced a new anti-soft-drink policy position in the very same issue. The policy's most controversial recommendation: "Pediatricians should work to eliminate sweetened drinks in schools." This is unfortunate. In making its recommendation, the Association overlooked a great deal of scientific research demonstrating the lack of any connection between obesity and soda consumption.
On Monday we told you how the media over-hyped a study (appearing in the journal Pediatrics) that attempted to blame childhood obesity on fast food. It turns out that the journal's publisher, the American Association of Pediatrics, announced a new anti-soft-drink policy position in the very same issue. The policy's most controversial recommendation: "Pediatricians should work to eliminate sweetened drinks in schools." This is unfortunate. In making its recommendation, the Association overlooked a great deal of scientific research demonstrating the lack of any connection between obesity and soda consumption.
A recent study in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition found that children's weight was not associated with the consumption of non-diet soda. The study's authors wrote:
This analysis refutes widespread speculation that carbonated soft drinks are responsible for the increase in overweight among children and adolescents ... [P]olicies aimed at curtailing consumption of carbonated soft drinks and fruit drinks/ades are impermanent solutions that will fail to coerce children and adolescents, in particular, to reject soft drinks.A study by Georgetown University researchers found that overweight children consumed, on average, about a shot-glass more soda per day than children of normal weight. That amounts to 30 calories -- the same number that's in a carrot. And there is no evidence that banning soda in schools reduces children's overall soda consumption anyway. Kids can easily bring soda from home, or leave school grounds to buy a can. And as we've pointed out before, the research that purports to back soda bans in schools is deeply flawed.
Maintaining a healthy weight follows a simple formula: "calories in" should equal "calories out." Even if we were to exclusively focus on the calories-in side, there's no reason to single out soda as a culprit -- especially considering that a can of soda contains fewer calories than an equivalent amount of many fruit juices.
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