Whenever I grocery shop, I’m always amazed at the amount of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages that people have in their carts. I remember my mother allowing my brother and me one glass of soda each week, as a special weekend treat, when we were growing up in the 1960s and 70s and the glass only held eight ounces.
Drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated throughout the day and thankfully bottled water now outsells soda in several U.S. markets. For those who continue to drink soda, note how the portion sizes have ballooned over the decades:
Drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated throughout the day and thankfully bottled water now outsells soda in several U.S. markets. For those who continue to drink soda, note how the portion sizes have ballooned over the decades:
Today, soda and other sugar-sweetened drinks are the default beverages in many people’s diets. Sodas occupy entire grocery store aisles and are a pervasive vended beverage. These “soft drinks” are making us soft around the middle and sadly, diet sodas aren't helping curb the overweight and obesity problem.
Consuming more calories than your body needs causes weight gain and drinking a can of soda every day is equivalent to more than 1,000 "empty" calories a week. Unfortunately, we don't eat fewer calories to compensate for the extra calories we consume through sugary beverages. As a result, a daily 12 ounce soda may lead to a 12 pound weight gain per year if the calories aren't burned off through increased physical activity. There is a direct relationship between sugary drink consumption and an increase in obesity that promotes a host of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
It's good to know the facts about soda. The consumer advocacy group, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is spreading the word about soda's drawbacks with a creative Real Bears soda awareness video and a fewer sugary drinks Web site. And the Boston Health Commission created the Fatsmack campaign to reduce sugary drink consumption among youth.
The conflict between soda companies and consumer advocates is escalating as policy and environmental changes are being put into place that limit access to sugary drinks. The friction is a bit reminiscent of public health campaigns to ban smoking. The difference in this case is that, although there is nothing redeeming about tobacco, soda companies contend that their beverages can have a place in a healthy diet. That may be true if people consumed sugary drinks in moderation and yet, based on my informal grocery store checkout observations, I’m doubtful that relying on individual behavior change will be an effective strategy to combat the problem.
It is somewhat encouraging to know that domestic soda sales are declining. Coke has responded to the revenue loss with a two-minute Coming Together video. Mark Bitman of the New York Times opined that the Coke video is "sheer manipulation, calculated to confuse, obscure and deny. It's not just Coke, of course, but the entire sugar industry..."
Consumer advocates at CSPI responded to Coke’s video with a stunning Coming Together: Translated video of their own.
The conflict between soda companies and consumer advocates is escalating as policy and environmental changes are being put into place that limit access to sugary drinks. The friction is a bit reminiscent of public health campaigns to ban smoking. The difference in this case is that, although there is nothing redeeming about tobacco, soda companies contend that their beverages can have a place in a healthy diet. That may be true if people consumed sugary drinks in moderation and yet, based on my informal grocery store checkout observations, I’m doubtful that relying on individual behavior change will be an effective strategy to combat the problem.
It is somewhat encouraging to know that domestic soda sales are declining. Coke has responded to the revenue loss with a two-minute Coming Together video. Mark Bitman of the New York Times opined that the Coke video is "sheer manipulation, calculated to confuse, obscure and deny. It's not just Coke, of course, but the entire sugar industry..."
Consumer advocates at CSPI responded to Coke’s video with a stunning Coming Together: Translated video of their own.
I’m sure you get the idea that things are bubbling over in the beverage industry and it's not just due to soda’s fizz. If you’re wondering what to replace your soda or diet soda with, water will always be the clear winner. Try drinking a variety of these beverage choices throughout the day:
Healthier Hydration Options
Sports drinks are only recommended if you're continuously physically active for more than one hour. When physical activities are done continuously for less than one hour, drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated.
Healthier Hydration Options
- water (fill and carry your own water bottle to save money and reduce plastic bottle use)
- plain or flavored seltzer water (check the label for zero calories and no artificial sweeteners)
- unsweetened teas (try brightly colored herbal teas such as raspberry tea; make your own iced tea and use it as a replacement for artificially colored drinks marketed to children)
- low-fat (i.e., 1% or nonfat) milk or fortified soy beverage
- unsweetened coffee (use low-fat dairy creamers)
- 100% juice (limited to no more than 6-8 ounces per day)
- “Fruit Fizz” (combine a few ounces of your favorite 100% juice with plain seltzer water and ice for a healthy soda alternative)
Sports drinks are only recommended if you're continuously physically active for more than one hour. When physical activities are done continuously for less than one hour, drinking water is the best way to stay hydrated.
Image credit: CSPI
Be Well,
Mary
March 2013 Update: Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released Healthier Beverage Recommendations this month. View a PDF of the age-based beverage recommendations.
June 4, 2013 Update: A recent American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article reported new government survey findings that Americans are drinking less sugar sweetened beverages. National data (1999-2010) showed that U.S. youths and adults lowered their intake of sugar-sweetened beverages by 68 and 45 calories per day respectively. Other findings include:
P.S. Please ignore the text box below; your comments are always welcome here.
Mary
March 2013 Update: Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released Healthier Beverage Recommendations this month. View a PDF of the age-based beverage recommendations.
June 4, 2013 Update: A recent American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article reported new government survey findings that Americans are drinking less sugar sweetened beverages. National data (1999-2010) showed that U.S. youths and adults lowered their intake of sugar-sweetened beverages by 68 and 45 calories per day respectively. Other findings include:
- Decreases in sugar-sweetened beverage consumption were seen across a wide range of sex, age, and race-ethnicities and yet some groups, such as 40-59 year olds, did not show significant declines;
- The consumption decreases occurred both at home and away from home and were associated with both meal times and snack times;
- There were decreases in calories from soda and fruit drinks. However, decreases weren't found for sports drinks/energy drinks.
P.S. Please ignore the text box below; your comments are always welcome here.
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