Children and adolescents consume more and more sugar soft drinks – their health risks

Concerning are the study findings, according to which teenagers also consumed 23% more sugar drinks (with sugar) in 2018 compared to 1990, she finds a global analysis of the eating habits of young people from 185 countries. The study was based on data from the World Food Database to see the trends in the intake of sugar drinks by children and young people, aged three to 19, from 1990 to 2018. All beverages with added sugars and at least 50 calories per portion of 237 grams were defined as sugar drinks. This includes soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks and sugar fruit drinks. The research excluded 100% fruit juices, artificial sweeteners but without calories and sugar milk. According to the survey published in The BMJ magazine, teenagers and urban residents had a higher consumption rate. It was also found that children and adolescents had almost twice as much overall intake as adults. The consumption of sugar drinks by young people varies by region of the world, with an average of 3.6 portions per week worldwide. The range was from 1.3 portions a week in southern Asia to 9.1 portions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Children and adolescents in 56 countries, representing 238 million young people or 10% of the global youth population, averaged seven or more portions a week. Among states with the highest intake of sugar drinks by children and young people in 2018 were Mexico (10.1 portions a week), Uganda (6.9), Pakistan (6.4), South Africa (6.2) and the US (6.2). Looking at trends from 1990 to 2018, the region with the greatest increase in consumption among young people was sub-Saharan Africa, where average weekly rations increased by 106%, i.e. 2.17 portions per week. “Sugar drinks increase body weight and risk of obesity, so although children do not often develop diabetes or cardiovascular diseases when they are young, they may have significant effects later on in their lives,” states the first author of the study, Laura Lara- Castor, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington. Authors recognise certain limitations in the study, such as the limited availability of data especially for countries with lower income in southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the possibility of sub-declaration or over-declaration of data by participants. Read it