Sugar & Kids Again

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

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Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) are drinks with added sugar including: non-diet soft drinks/sodas, flavored juice drinks, sports drinks, sweetened tea, coffee drinks, energy drinks, and electrolyte replacement drinks.  The calories in sugar sweetened beverages can contribute to weight gain and provide little to no nutritional value. Sugar-sweetened beverages do not fill you up the same way that food does. Those extra calories can lead to other health risks including obesity, tooth decay, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

What you should know

• Approximately 11% of the calories youth consume come from sugar-sweetened beverages. (more)
• Each 12-ounce soft drink per day consumed by children increases their odds of becoming obese by 60%. (more)
• Among young children, aged 1 through 5 years, consumption of sweetened, carbonated soft drinks was associated with an 80-100% increased risk of dental caries. (more) 

Source:  Rhode Island Dept of Health:
www.health.ri.gov/healthrisks/sugarsweetenedbeverages/index.php