Soft drink consumption is clearly correlated with increased cases of overweight and obesity among adolescents. The confirmation comes from an Anglo-Japanese study, published in Jama Network Open. (1)
Soft drinks and obesity, the study
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety in Kanagawa examined levels of soft drink consumption and incidence of overweight and obesity in 405,528 school-age adolescents (children enrolled in school) from 107 countries and regions (including 65 low-/middle-income and 42 high-income).
Overall, 17% of adolescents (mean age 14 years) were found to be overweight or obese, and 33% reported consuming soft drinks one or more times a day.
The worst data in the small island of Niue.
The incidence of overweight and obesity detected ranges from 3% in Cambodia to 64% in Niue. The small island in the Pacific Ocean also emerges for another inconvenient record. In fact, among its adolescents there is also the highest peak of consumption of soft drinks once or more a day: 80 percent compared to 3 percent among the most attentive Icelandic youth.
The striking cause-and-effect correspondence found in Niue is the perfect synthesis of data collected from the 107 countries considered, showing a statistically significant association between daily beverage consumption and overweight/obesity.
The prairie of low-income countries
Soft drink consumption continues to grow, particularly in low- and middle-income countries targeted by the industry’s convincing marketing techniques.
National health policies, however, in few cases counteract this phenomenon, guided by a myopia that will open its eyes too late to the harmful effects on population health and health care coffers. (2)
‘Understanding the association between soft drink consumption and extra pounds is important to curb the trend, especially in low- and middle-income countries, because many beverage companies are intensifying marketing and sales promotion in those areas,’ the researchers warn.
Correlations between soft drink consumption, overweight and obesity
Data analysis shows that each 10 percent increase in daily soft drink consumption is matched by a 3.7 percent increase in the incidence of overweight or obesity.
Correlations between soft drink consumption, overweight, and obesity are explained by two likely mechanisms:
– the trivial intake of excessive energy, due to the unbalanced amount of sugar added to soft drinks,
– A decreased sense of satiety due to the ingestion of liquid calories, resulting in a search for ‘solid’ calories in subsequent meals.
What solutions
The sugar tax is the most common policy to combat excessive consumption of soft drinks and the resulting increase in obesity rates. This measure has been implemented in more than 50 countries worldwide, with evidence of effectiveness, as in the recent study of British teenage girls. (3)
The authors of the study point out that.
– high-income countries are more likely to levy taxes on soft drinks than low- and middle-income countries (42.9 percent vs. 21.5 percent),
– In countries with soft drink taxes, the prevalence of daily soft drink consumption among school-going adolescents is lower than in countries without such taxes (30.2 percent vs. 33.5 percent).
‘These results suggest that governments, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries, should take actions such as imposing soft drink taxes to reduce soft drink consumption or reduce the amount of sugar consumed by soft drinks to help curb the rapid increase in obesity‘, conclude the researchers, who also call for the promotion of other health measures, such as reducing calorie and saturated fat intake and increasing physical activity.
Notes
(1) Hu H, Song J, MacGregor GA, He FJ. Consumption of Soft Drinks and Overweight and Obesity Among Adolescents in 107 Countries and Regions. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(7):e2325158. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.25158
(2) Dario Dongo, Sabrina Bergamini. Sweetened and sugary drinks, sweet snacks. Studies on premature mortality and sugar tax. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 10.9.19
(3) Marta Strinati. Sugar tax. Fewer 5,000 cases of obesity among British girls. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 28.1.23
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
