What kids drink at 5 could affect weight at 15

Reuters Health on Yahoo ^ | 11/6/09 | Joene Hendry

[NormsRevenge]

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Parents may be setting their daughters up for weight problems simply by allowing them to drink two or more sweetened drinks daily while young, study findings hint.

Higher sweetened beverage intake, such as sodas and fruit and sport drinks, at age 5 years was linked to more body fat during the following 10 years, Dr. Laura Fiorito, at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, told Reuters Health in an email.

Higher body fat during the teen years has been tied to long-term overweight and other health problems such as diabetes and later heart disease, Fiorito and colleagues note in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Fiorito's team looked at what 166 non-Hispanic white girls drank between the ages of 5 and 15. They also measured their weight, height, and body fat.

Body fat and weight did not vary depending on how much milk or juice made from 100 percent fruit the girls drank.

By contrast, after allowing for other factors tied to weight and body fat levels, girls who drank two or more sweetened drinks daily had higher percentages of body fat, weighed more, and were more likely to be overweight than girls who drank lesser amounts of such beverages.

For example, of the 5 and 15 year old girls drinking less than one drink, the researchers found about 16 and 19 percent overweight, respectively. Among those drinking 2 or more sweetened drinks, about 39 percent were overweight at 5 years, while and 32 percent were the same when 15 years old.

[NormsRevenge]

a weighty topic ..

Dr. Phil and Maury have the little porkballs on every once and awhile.. man, lock the fridge

[taillightchaser]

Wow, I’m glad the government woke us up to this horrible situation. How much did the study cost the taxpayers?

[fatnotlazy]

So goverment can step in and tax and regulate the karp out of these products.

Fact is no one forces you or me or anyone else to drink these things to such excess. If you’re a parent, you should keep your eye on what your children eat or drink anyway. But nooooooo...parents are too busy; so government has to step in.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I often wonder about people that end up weighing thousands of pounds. Who FEEDS them? And how amazingly expensive must that be?

My kids aren’t fat. And they have all sorts of horror stories to tell you about the PLAIN WATER or milk I made them drink and FRUITS and VEGETABLES I made them eat, LOL! They were hardly ever sick and little or no problems with acne.

The rule at our house was that I’d provide food at mealtimes and sack lunches for school. You want snacks and extras? You’re compelled to eat icky School Lunch for some reason? You buy them yourself.

You want candy? Go ‘Trick or Treat’ for it, or wait until Easter or Christmas.

I would make popcorn if we were all watching a movie together or something. I wasn’t COMPLETELY heartless, LOL!

[proxy_user]

I you are five years old and play outdoors all day, you can eat pretty much anything.

[gore_sux_2000]

Agreed. Although we weren’t allowed to drink soda very much, we had Kool Aid, juice, etc. and my siblings and I turned out just fine.

[SIDENET]

I lived on sugar as a kid.

Not only am I not overweight, but I've never even had a cavity.

[raybbr]

...but I've never even had a cavity.

Hmmmmm... Should I open this up?

Should I explore this statement?

Should I look inside for the real meaning?

Okay.

No cavities? That means no belly button; no mouth; no nostrils; no ears; no place where #2 comes out.

Got to be specific. :^)

[exDemMom]

So... this study looked only at “sugary drink” consumption, and no other factors, and made all these conclusions based on that?

I’m betting that there’s an overall pattern here. The drinks aren’t to blame. The inactivity and overeating are.

[SIDENET]

Hmmmmm... Should I open this up?

Please. No probing of the whole cavity thing.

LOL.

[rbg81]

This study is crap. I ate enormous amount of sugary junk food and soft drinks until I went off to college and stayed rail thin. I think the same was true of most of my generation, and (frankly) there were very few overweight 18 year olds back then. Even those that were considered “fat” back then would be considered merely chubby today.

Something else is afoot. I would not be surprised if it has to do with steroids given to livestock. However, the Government will never tell us about that. Instead, they will set up a straw boogeyman to divert our attention.

[JPG]

What I drink at 5 affects me, too.

[libertarian27]

When I was a kid my mother made gallons of Kool-Aid for us for years and years - it was cheap - we were normal weight and still are.

I don’t drink the Kool-Aid anymore though ;)

[PistolPaknMama]

My kids drank koolaide (the good kind), juice, soft drinks, milk and sweet tea. They ate....sit down for this one....cookies and candy bars, pudding, jello and Little Debbie cakes. They also played outside, ran in the woods, helped in the yard and had chores around the house. They didn't spend 95% of their awake hours in front of the TV and video games.

This study is hogwash. Turn off the TV, hide the video games and throw your kids out in the yard and tell them, in Mama's famous words, "Find something to do!"

[Spike Knotts]

If you’re 50 years old and “play” outdoors all day you can eat pretty much anything...or so I hope.

Just like a dog needs a good walk, a human needs to exert itself.