Sugar-Sweetened Drinks

Likewise, linking back to excess screen time, although various restrictions on the advertisement of food and drink have been put in place over the years, there are a lot of loopholes, because many television programmes, apps and organisations are not limited to these strict margins (Children’s Food Campaign, 2017). Many companies, such as Kellogg’s, use cartoon characters to promote their sugary breakfast cereals to the younger generation. According to NHS East Lancashire Hospitals (2015) there is a massive 18.5g of sugar in a 50g serving of Kellogg’s Frosties, which is the same as eating 5 cubes of sugar. Sahoo et al. (2015) state that sugary beverages also cause unnecessary weight gain, because they are more easily consumed, whilst taking in excessive calories. Sugar causes this extra weight gain because when a person is taking in sugar constantly – as part of an everyday diet – the insulin in the body won’t be able to burn all of the sugar, and will therefore store it as fat instead (Cleveland Clinic, 2016).

While the schools adhere to dietary guidelines set by the government, they still use discretion on how to serve and prepare the food to children. It is at this level that a lot of improvement stands to be made. Schools offer a lot of high-energy-dense foods, which have a lot of calories in each bite. A recent study among children showed that a high-energy-dense diet is associated with a higher risk for excess body fat during childhood. Sugar drinks are the largest source of added sugar and an important contributor of calories in the diets of children in the United States. High consumption of sugar drinks has been associated

How has this impacted our health? According to Dr. Barry Popin of the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, studies have shown that people who shift from non calorie drinks to sweetened drinks gain weight, probably because they do not compensate by eating less. Popin says that drinking calories in liquid form does not register with our appetite controls.

Nickelson discusses how discouraging sugar-sweetened drinks consumption can make an impact on childhood obesity. This heavily effects preschool age children and the proportion of children consuming sugar-sweetened beverages increases over time. Soda being the most studied is associated with taste preference, habit intentions, television viewing, soda availability at home and school and parental willingness to purchases sodas for children. Other influencers such as child care could reflect on the child’s intake of the sugary drinks. This article also held a study where they figured out that preschool aged children intake more sugary beverages than between the ages of 1 and 2. It’s thought that school settings would be best to intervene to prevent

Sweetness has been the obsession that affected humans for many years. It is the satisfaction that people seem to like, however, there might be a downfall to this addiction with sugar. There have been studies that claimed that the obesity rates in America have increased dramatically for over the past 20 years (Eatwell.com, 2012). Obesity rates have increased by double that it has made it to the top three health concerns in America. Experts are trying to find out what causes obesity. Moreover, there are studies that linked with drinking large amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages that a child can risk obesity. This might possibly prove that obesity can be caused by sugar-sweetened food.

As we know, a healthy diet is extremely important to a child’s overall health. It is important to determine what children are eating that is causing excessive weight gain. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a large contributor to this epidemic. HFCS was introduced as an alternative to sugar in food products in the late 1960s. Thanks to the low cost of corn in the 1970s, HFCS popularity grew and eventually became a staple ingredient in thirty-five percent of the United States food supply by 1985. Some of these foods include: cereals, juice boxes, soda, boxed snacks, and dessert items (R.E. Morgan). These items are mainly marketed and consumed by children. Because high fructose corn syrup is not a glucose based product, the body does not break it down

Behavioral factors of childhood obesity are food consumption and physical activity. Children consume more food and beverages that are unhealthy on a more consistent basis. Often children’s environments in their homes, child care center, school, or community are influenced by high calorie sugar-saturated drinks, such as soda and unhealthy foods. Larger food portions of with increased fatty and sugar content is the new reality for American children. Studies completed on children who have consistent intake of food and

“Food choices are made on the basis of taste, cost, and convenience, and, to a lesser extent, health and variety” (2). The current eating environment is characterized by a variety of low cost, energy dense foods served in large portions. The average American diet receives a little under half of total energy intake from added sugars and fats. Between 1977 and 1996, the number of Americans who drank sugared beverages increased 15%, and that number currently has reached around ¾ of the total population. The frequency of consumption also rose to 2 ½ servings per day (3). Soft drinks are only behind bread when it pertains to carbohydrate intake in children ages 2 to 18 at 9% of total caloric intake (3). Most energy dense foods fill menus at Fast Food locations. Consumption of large portions of energy dense

With the ready availability of high calorie/high carbohydrate soft drinks, fruit juice, and high carbohydrate snacks, children's diets have become increasingly less nutritious. Surveys conducted among children and teenagers have shown that 7 out of 10 children eat fruit once a day, and 5 out of 10 teenagers eat fruit once a day (Bastin, 47). Because children are replacing the missing fruit servings with high calorie snacks, weight gain will occur dramatically over time. An over consumption of 50-100 calories can lead to a gain of 5-10 pounds a year (Oklahoma Cooperative, 1). Many parents mistakenly encourage carbohydrates with a high-glycemic value as substitutes for fat and protein. High-glycemic carbohydrates prevent fat breakdown and drive fat into fat deposits, causing fat to accumulate, which occurring in high levels is obesity. The era of home cooking has all but disappeared from our society, with meals being replaced with pizza, or fast food creating yet another innutritious aspect of children's diets. Carbohydrates also take far less time to empty from the stomach than do those foods high in fat or protein, causing hunger (Buffington, 14). A child having eaten a bowl of cereal for breakfast is likely to be hungry by mid-morning with the need for a snack. At school, he or she may satisfy their mid-morning hunger with yet another high carbohydrate food such as a soda,

One recommendation for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, is to encourage people to drink more water. This a recommendation that would include children, adolescents, and adults. Increasing water consumption has shown to help limit excess weight gain1, while drinking water can also improve student’s readiness to learn by increasing the level of cognitive functioning 2. As previously described by Heidi, sugar sweetened beverages is now consumed instead of water in a large sector of the population. Consuming water instead of sodas, sports drinks, flavored milks, fruit-flavored drinks, and other beverages with added sugar can prevent dental caries3. For example, substituting water for one 20-ounce sugar sweetened soda will save people about

The author claims that it is better for the diet to consume sugar than aspartame. In support to the claim, the author states that aspartame leads people to eat more food and thus contribute to weight gain whereas sugar helps to burn fat if it is consumed after certain amount of work out. The author omits several considerations that should be addressed to substantiate the conclusion, hence, the argument is not convincing.

In the study Low-Calorie Sweeteners and Body Weight and Composition: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies, Paige Miller and Vanessa Perez analyzed with an attempt to explain, the link between low-calorie sweeteners and body weight, fat mass, body mass index, and waist circumference through studies of randomized controlled trials. The low-calorie sweeteners studied came from both food and drink intake, these sweeteners are classified into two sub-categories: nonnutritive sweeteners (high-intensity sweetness) and bulk sweeteners/polyols (low-intensity sweetness). Because of the low-intensity sweetness of the bulk sweeteners, they are often used in union with the nonnutritive sweeteners. Within the study, fifteen randomized controlled trials and nine prospective cohort (observational) studies were identified, from PubMed, separately to

With the government’s ban on sugary drinks larger than sixteen ounces in New York City, whether or not the government has been over-exercising its power has become a highly debated topic. The two main opposing positions on this topic are that the ban is beneficial to the overall health of society with the other being that the ban is useless and is seen as an intrusion of people’s freedom.Whether or not one has picked a side to support, it cannot be denied that obesity and other health problems are largely influenced due to excessive consumption of artificial products including soda and other drinks with a high sugar content. On a related topic, there had been a previous ban on trans fat which had been directly linked with artery clogging and high cholesterol. Many people accepted this ban as the government’s decision to remove a life-threatening ingredient although this caused the more controversial subject to arise of whether or not the government should have the capability and power of regulating what we consume.

For centuries, the high consumption of sugar has been known to have negative health effects on people of all ages. Independent of its caloric content and impact on weight, sugar is arguably the major cause of many chronic illnesses that develop among individuals. According to a study primarily conducted by Robert Lustig and Jean-Marc Schwarz, the reduction of sugar for even a small interval of time can notably improve metabolism. The subjects of the study included 43 Latino and African American kids who also possessed another comorbidity that may have arisen as a result of living a sedentary life or consuming a poor diet. For a span of 9 days, these habitual sugar consumers were given preselected meals which still consisted of processed

One fundamental cause of obesity is diet. Adolescence is perfect example of this. Students might have breakfast and lunch at schools. The vast majority of students’ lunches often consist of crisps, chocolate bars and soft drinks, which are high energy foods and due to unbalance energy. (Oliver, 2010). According to research, 25% teenagers are already obese. (ibid). To save money or reduce expenses, schools provide unhealthy foods or junk foods. When soft drinks which were coca cola came into the global economy, drinking soft drinks became popular in schools. The data gives a detailed situation. If a student only has one tin of coca he might has 8 tablespoons of sugar and the rest can be done in the same manner one, a month is 240 tablespoons sugar from drinks. (ibid). Frequent, red meat, large meals high in refined grains, sugary drinks, unhealthy fats are typical Western diet. (Harvard School of Public Health, 2014).