Nutrition experts propose new class of low-sugar drinks to help stem obesity and diabetes...(epartment of Nutrition at HSPH has creat...)

Date:4/20/2009

epartment of Nutrition at HSPH, has created new content to provide consumers with information that can help them choose healthier drinks, including a chart that lists the sugar content of a variety of popular sodas, fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks, and sweetened waters. The site also provides specific recommendations for how key societal sectors can make changes that will help Americans choose healthier drinks. (See links to the new "Choosing Healthy Drinks" section of The Nutrition Source website below.)

Americans consume sugary beverages in staggering amounts. On a typical day, four out of five children and two out of three adults drink sugar-sweetened beverages. Teen boys drink more than a quart of sugary drinks, on average, every day. A 12-ounce can of soda or juice typically has 10-12 teaspoons of sugar and 150 or more calories; the popular 20-ounce bottle size now prevalent on store shelves and in vending machines carries nearly 17 teaspoons of sugar and 250 calories. According to research at HSPH and elsewhere, sugared beverages are the leading source of added sugar in the diet of young Americans. If a person drank one can of a sugary beverage every day for a year and didn't cut back on calories elsewhere, the result could be a weight gain of up to 15 pounds.

Consuming sugary drinks may have other harmful health outcomes: The latest research from HSPH published in the April issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed the health of 90,000 women over two decades and found that women who drank more than two servings of sugary beverages each day had a nearly 40 percent higher risk of heart disease than women who rarely drank sugary beverages.

By choosing healthier beverages, individuals can reduce risks to their health. Water is the best option, but Willett and his colleagues understand that people will not be able to kick their sugar-drink habit overnight. Therefore, they believe that Americans need to lower their
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Contact: Todd Datz tdatz@hsph.harvard.edu 617-432-3952 Harvard School of Public Health Source:Eurekalert

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