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Two New Studies Refute Assumption That Soft Drink Consumption By School-Aged Children Is Contributing To Childhood Obesity
www.ceresnet.org
(San Diego, Calif.) -- April 17, '00 . . . New studies by nutrition researchers from Georgetown and Michigan State Universities presented today to the Annual Meeting of the Experimental Biology Society demonstrate that soft drink consumption by children is not responsible for increases in pediatric obesity.
"Our data show that overweight children consumed only two ounces more carbonated soft drinks, than non-overweight children. If we want a 'villain' to blame for increases in childhood obesity, then we should point our fingers at the real culprits, huge portions of food and a lack of physical activity," said Maureen Storey, Ph.D., and Director Demeter Dialogue of the Georgetown Center for Food and Nutrition Policy.
"Parents should realize that all beverages, except water and diet soda, contain calories. Our focus should be to burn more calories and to take in fewer calories, regardless of their source. Calls to severely limit or eliminate single foods are unwise and simply won't work. We should get over this 'good food, bad food' silliness and move on."
The Georgetown study used data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's CFSII data set from 1994-1996. The University researchers segmented the groups as overweight and non-overweight.
Other data presented to the scientific conference by Won O. Song, Ph.D., and Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Michigan State University, found no data to support the allegation that soft drinks are replacing milk in the diets of children, in the past ten years in the U.S.
"First, the data demonstrate soft drinks have not replaced milk in the diets of children age 1-19. There is no direct relationship between changes in children's consumption of carbonated soft drinks and their consumption of milk. In fact, neither children's consumption of milk nor carbonated soft drinks has changed significantly from 1987/88 to 1997/98," she said.
"Second, the data indicate children ages 1-5 have significantly increased their proportion of milk consumed and significantly decreased their proportion of carbonated soft drinks consumed.
"Third, the data show among children ages 6-9, the consumption of milk and carbonated soft drinks have remained steady over the last ten years.
And, finally, the data show among older children, ages 10-19, which have increased their consumption of carbonated soft drinks over the past ten years, no corresponding decline in milk consumption is observed. All this talk about soft drinks replacing milk is not substantiated scientifically,'" Song concluded.
Song studied data specifically on consumption of beverages including carbonated soft drinks by children ages 1-19 over the ten year period from 1987/88 through 1997/98.
This analysis was conducted using data from NFO Research's Share of Intake Panel (SIP). This study utilized information from 12,000 households using a 14 day diary in which consumers report contemporaneously all beverages consumed. NFO Research, Inc., is one of the nation's leading providers of insight into the needs, behaviors and attitudes of the American consumer.
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The Georgetown Center for Food and Nutrition Policy analyzes and reports on complex issues in food and nutrition policy. The Center provides instruction and mentoring in food and nutrition policy within the graduate program of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and services as an academic and intellectual resource in these subject areas within the Georgetown University community. In the larger community, the Center provides a nexus wherein government, industry, academia and consumer groups can openly discuss issues in food and nutrition policy.
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