Is Your SODA Habit Making You Aggressive? New Research Study!
As someone with a background in research, attending graduate school for nutrition, I love following the latest studies and media reports concerning the field. I love sharing what I learn with others and also extrapolating how the newest findings can help YOU.
So listen up people!
A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics (8/16/2013) sighted a link between soda consumption and children’s behavior problems. Over 3,000 mothers in twenty U.S. cities completed surveys about their child’s behavior patterns, TV watching habits, and soft drink consumption over the course of two months. Researchers found that kids who drank four or more servings of soda per day had the highest aggression scores. Controlling for the amount of television watched, candy consumed, and mother’s race and education, results still showed those who drank the most soda had the highest aggression scores, along with attention problems.
What does this mean for us? Researchers are not sure if it’s the sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or possibly caffeine in soda that causes this effect, but it’s important to realize that soft drink consumption takes away from other positive nutrition for these children…and adults for that matter too!
A Gallop poll completed last year found that 48% of Americans consume soda daily, averaging 2.6 glasses a day! The average 12oz can of Coca-Cola contains 140 calories, ALL of which come from 39g or 10 teaspoons of SUGAR. Even if you’re a fully developed adult and not worried about developing aggression problems, soda consumption does not have positive effects on your health…choose another beverage! And don’t be fooled, guzzling “diet” versions are no better; consuming artificial sweeteners haven’t been shown to be any better for your waistline or health.
…Maybe NYC’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on to something, trying to limit the quantity of soft drinks available for purchase…hmmm.
Have you tried to cut back or eliminate your soda habit? Tell me how!