by Jennifer Bunn

Created on: September 23, 2009

Many recent studies have shown a positive correlation between the consumption of soft drinks and the rise of obesity in America, including childhood obesity. The statistics are difficult to refute: almost one-third of Americans are classed as obese, and numbers in other developed countries show a similar trend. Obesity is an epidemic, and soft drinks play a large role in fueling the epidemic.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied the beverage consumption patterns of more than 73,000 Americans over the age of two and found that American's consumption of soda has increased to the point that, on average, Americans now get approximately 144 calories a day from soft drinks, and that soft drinks have supplanted milk as the drink of choice. The researchers concluded that the obesity epidemic could be somewhat mitigated if people were to decrease their consumption of soft drinks.

Researchers from the Framingham Heart Study found that study participants who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31% chance of developing new-onset obesity (defined as a body-mass index of 30 or higher) in comparison to those participants in the study who drank less soda. Soda drinkers also had a 31% chance of increasing their waist size. Obesity and larger waist circumference have been linked to metabolic syndrome, a group of symptoms that can predispose people towards the development of diabetes and heart disease.

One reason postulated for why soft drink consumption leads to obesity is that soft drinks contain ample amounts of sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. The calories in soft drinks are considered to be "empty calories" with no real nutritional value. It has been observed that consuming soft drinks does not ease hunger, and in fact makes one more hungry in the long run. Soft drinks lead to a rapid increase in blood sugar, but the increase is not sustained, causing those who drink them to feel even more hungry once the "sugar rush" wears off. Thus, on top of providing excess calories that serve no real nutritional purpose, the consumption of soft drinks may lead people to eat more at meal times.

The obesity epidemic is real; one need only look around to observe that obesity is now an American fact of life. It affects not only adults but children as well, a state of affairs that has many health professionals concerned. Those looking to lose weight and cut their risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other conditions related to obesity should examine their total consumption of soft drinks, and attempt to curb their intake.

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