Originally published September 22 2005
Debate rages over soda's culpability in America's obesity problem
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Soda has come under fire as a source of America's growing obesity problem because nutrition scientists say it is the number one dietary source of added sugars, and legislation is being reviewed that will stem some of children's major sources of soda (school cafeterias and vending machines), but some sources say soda is simply a scapegoat.
Some people deride them as "sugar water," others as "liquid candy."
Never favorites with dietitians or parents, sodas are receiving more and more nutritional heat these days --- and the drumbeat to run them out of schools is growing louder.
Legislation is on the march, with a bill pending in California to stringently limit soft drink sales in high schools, and other anti-soda measures under consideration in many states and school districts.
At an August meeting and in full-page ads in major newspapers, it resolved to remove sodas entirely from elementary schools, allow middle-school kids access to full-calorie sodas and fruit drinks only after school hours, and ensure that no more than 50% of the vending machine beverage offerings in high schools are soft drinks.
Juice drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, calorie-laden coffee and even juice itself will help pack on pounds if imbibed to excess --- and more than artificially sweetened sodas will.
"There's sort of a misperception about the role that sports drinks play in a nutritious diet," says Rachel Johnson, professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont.
Today, adults get 7% of their calories from soft drinks, according to government statistics, and teens get even more.
In one study the committee considered, scientists at the Children's Hospital Boston tracked 548 schoolchildren of various ethnicities for 19 months.
They found that kids who increased their consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks during the study's course had slightly higher body mass indexes and were more likely to be obese, after taking into account other lifestyle differences such as levels of physical activity.
Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest --- a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that has been campaigning against soft drink consumption --- says the proposed changes are actually slight.
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