Poor drink choices negatively impacts children’s diet and overall health. This is nothing new for nutritionists. In fact, three recent studies reiterated that the best drink choice for our children comes from the trusted kitchen tap. Water!
Let’s look at some facts below.
Leanne & Fitness Tips Say:
- Among more than 7000 children and teens in the US, those who drank sweetened drinks that are high in sugar and low-calorie drinks, consumed between 196 and 450 more calories per day than those children who mostly drank water. This research was reported in Pediatric Obesity. So, calorie reduced sweetened drinks such as diet soda that is made with artificial sweeteners, don’t cut calorie consumption in youths as thought or hoped.
- Researchers from Pennsylvania State University found that children and adolescents who don’t drink water, on average, intake 4.5% more calories from drinks such as juice, soda’s, and sports drinks, and consume 93 calories more per day compared to those who choose to drink water.
- Based on information sourced from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, between 2003 and 2016, the daily energy drink consumption increased from 0.2% to 1.4% among teenagers and from 0.5% to 5.5% among young adults! This report came from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.
Apart from the high sugar content of sweetened drinks, researchers also found caffeine intake was a major concern. Caffeine consumption in youth led to poor sleep, health, and overall wellbeing.
Read more about the importance of drinking water here.
H2O is definitely the way to go!
