Heart disease and diabetes symptoms such as insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, hypertension, and high triglyceride levels (a cluster of traits known as metabolic syndrome), previously seen almost entirely in adults, are being found in adolescents in increasing numbers.
A study of this problem suggests that reducing intake of sugar-sweetened beverages during childhood could lessen the risk of chronic disease later on.
The study looked at traits such as blood pressure, waist circumference, and levels of HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose in more than 150 13-year-old girls, as well as their parents. The study looked at dietary, activity and lifestyle patterns starting from when the girls were 5.
If you ever wondered why I'm so adamant about ridding schools of sugary sweet drinks, this latest Penn State University study ought to convince you.
Drinking even one extra soda a day can be dangerous to your overall health, and can eventually lead to metabolic syndrome.
All of this merely underscores how the rampant epidemic of childhood obesity in America is linked to the health of your children as they age.
Thankfully, there are plenty of things you can do stop this epidemic in your home before it gets out of control. In addition to replacing those sugary juices and soft drinks with clean water, you should limit your children's TV time and get the TV out of their bedroom immediately, as well as get your children off the couch and onto the playground or, at the very least, moving around vigorously while they watch TV!
Fortunately, stopping soda is not all that difficult. You just need to be cautious and wean yourself off slowly so you don't go through a severe withdrawal. If you still struggle with stopping, though, you can try Turbo Tapping, which many have found help them stop this pernicious habit.
Vital Votes reader Tom from Grandview, Ohio opines:
"Sugary sweet drinks ... all of them ... are a slow acting highly toxic poison. They have absolutely zero redeeming nutritional value to any living thing. I have loved ones who are so addicted to these God-awful substances that it just breaks my heart to know what this stuff is doing to their health. "Yet all the persuading in the world has no effect on their self-destructive addiction to this stuff. We have a long way to go on this issue. "... Think about this ... how many sugary drink addicts do you know who are healthy, or even have the appearance of good health? I doubt that any exist at all. It is not possible. Every one of them that I know personally are in poor physical health. "Those who are not obese, are usually skinny to a fault. Look at for eye clarity (or lack, thereof); or, look for nervousness and fidgety social demeanor. Shortness of breath, glycemic imbalance, joint problems, high blood pressure, all these things make for a very unhealthy individual. "The sugary drinks of today are worse than they were originally. Instead of pure sugar they now use high fructose corn syrup, which is a highly processed, highly refined sugar product. It is about 10 times more potent than pure cane sugar. Add to this the fact that people drink ten times more of it than they once did. When I was a kid, a bottle of Coke was made with plain sugar, and it was served in a 6-1/4 oz. bottle. "Now the high fructose variety is ordered by the liter, and consumed at every meal (and between)."
"Sugary sweet drinks ... all of them ... are a slow acting highly toxic poison. They have absolutely zero redeeming nutritional value to any living thing. I have loved ones who are so addicted to these God-awful substances that it just breaks my heart to know what this stuff is doing to their health.
"Yet all the persuading in the world has no effect on their self-destructive addiction to this stuff. We have a long way to go on this issue.
"... Think about this ... how many sugary drink addicts do you know who are healthy, or even have the appearance of good health? I doubt that any exist at all. It is not possible. Every one of them that I know personally are in poor physical health.
"Those who are not obese, are usually skinny to a fault. Look at for eye clarity (or lack, thereof); or, look for nervousness and fidgety social demeanor. Shortness of breath, glycemic imbalance, joint problems, high blood pressure, all these things make for a very unhealthy individual. "The sugary drinks of today are worse than they were originally. Instead of pure sugar they now use high fructose corn syrup, which is a highly processed, highly refined sugar product. It is about 10 times more potent than pure cane sugar. Add to this the fact that people drink ten times more of it than they once did. When I was a kid, a bottle of Coke was made with plain sugar, and it was served in a 6-1/4 oz. bottle.
"Now the high fructose variety is ordered by the liter, and consumed at every meal (and between)."
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