Recent research shows that adolescents who regularly consume sugar-sweetened beverages have no trouble switching to sugar-free beverages, if provided the opportunity, and making the switch may lead to weight loss, especially among overweight teens.
The role of sugar-sweetened beverages in promoting obesity is hotly debated. The following study provides a strong case that sugar-sweetened beverages play a strong role in weight gain among adolescents. The findings also provide additional support for the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations to limit intake of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Researchers from the Children's Hospital Boston, USA, did a study involving 103 high school students who regularly drank sugar-sweetened beverages. For 25 weeks, 53 of the teens in the intervention group were provided with a variety of alternative beverages that did not contain sugar such as bottled water and diet beverages including soft drinks, iced teas, lemonades and punches. The beverages were delivered right to the teen's homes. The other 50 control teens received no intervention.
It was found that the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages fell by 82 percent in the intervention group but did not change in the control group. With this simple intervention, the researchers were able to eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet. The teens that substituted sugar-packed drinks with diet drinks lost weight, especially the ones who were overweight. In the heaviest group, body weight decreased significantly and substantially and this effect approached 1 pound per month.
The above simple intervention is feasible in not only changing one's behaviour but also in influencing body weight.
Pediatrics,
March 2006
March 2006