Children and teenagers are consuming more sugary soft drinks – risks to their health

Alarmingly, children and adolescents consumed 23% more sugary drinks (soft drinks with sugar) in 2018 compared with 1990, according to a global analysis of the eating habits of young people in 185 countries.

The study used data World Food Databaseto study Trends in sugary drink consumption among children and young people aged three to 19 years from 1990 to 2018. Sugary drinks were defined as all drinks with added sugar and containing at least 50 calories per 8-ounce serving. This includes soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and sweet fruit drinks. The study excluded 100% fruit juices, soft drinks with artificial sweeteners but no calories and milk with sugar.

According to the study, published in the journal The BMJ, teenagers and urban dwellers had higher consumption levels. It was also found that children and teenagers consumed almost twice as much as adults.

Consumption of sweet drinks young people varies depending on regions of the world: The global average is 3.6 servings per week. The range was from 1.3 servings per week in South Asia to 9.1 servings per week in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Children and adolescents in 56 countries, representing 238 million young people or 10% of the world’s youth population, consumed an average of seven or more servings per week. The countries with the highest consumption of sugary drinks by children and young people in 2018 were Mexico (10.1 servings per week), Uganda (6.9), Pakistan (6.4), South Africa (6.2) and the United States (6.2). Looking at trends from 1990 to 2018, the region with the largest increase in consumption among young people was sub-Saharan Africa, where the average number of weekly servings increased by 106%, or 2.17 servings per week.

«Sugar-sweetened drinks increase body weight and the risk of obesity, so although children are less likely to develop diabetes or heart disease at a young agethey can have significant consequences later in life,” says study lead author Laura Kastor of the University of Washington.

Source link