Sugary Sports Drinks Lack Nutritional Value

Children who drink large amounts of flavored and sports beverages containing sugar may negatively impact their health even if they have an active lifestyle and adhere to a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables, according to a new study published in the October issue of Pediatrics.

Researchers at The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) examined the association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, unhealthy and healthy foods and physical activity levels of 8th and 11th grade Texas students to determine the relationship between beverage consumption and other behaviors. Flavored or sports beverage drink consumption increased with levels of healthy food consumption and physical activity when compared to high soda consumption, which was associated with lower levels of these healthy behaviors.

“Children and parents associate these drinks with a healthy lifestyle despite their increased amount of sugar and lack of nutritional value," said Nalini Ranjit, Ph.D., principal investigator and assistant professor of behavioral sciences at the UTHealth School of Public Health. “Sports drinks have been successfully marketed as beverages consistent with a healthy lifestyle, which has set them apart from sodas. However they have minimal fruit juice and contain unnecessary calories."

As reported by Newswise, 28 percent of Texas children are consuming sugar-sweetened beverages three or more times a day. Among boys, the average daily consumption of soda increased from 8th to 11th grade while consumption of non-carbonated flavored and sports beverages remained steady. Soda consumption in girls remained steady from 8th to 11th grade and consumption of non-carbonated flavored and sports beverages declined substantially. Researchers found black children had lower soda consumption but considerably higher flavored and sports beverage consumption compared to Hispanic or Caucasian children.

“High levels of consumption of these beverages has the potential to increase weight gain," said Ranjit, “Drinking just one can of soda or other sugary beverage a day could lead to more than a 10-pound weight gain in a year."

The researchers also suggested children be limited to one glass of fruit juice a day because of the high calories. They urged children to drink water to replenish lost fluid and use sports drinks for extreme exercise. They also noted whole fruit is a better nutritional choice than fruit juice.

Sources:

* Newswise: Sugary Sports Drinks Mistakenly Associated with Being Healthy