Replacing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) with water could eliminate an average of 235 excess calories per day among children and adolescents, according to a study published in the April 2009 Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
The study's authors conclude that such a replacement would be a simple and effective way to reduce excess intake of calories causing childhood overweight and obesity, as well as address dental cavities and other health problems associated with added sugar. And they predict no detrimental effects on nutrition.
"The evidence is now clear that replacing these 'liquid calories' with calorie-free beverage alternatives both at home and in schools represents a key strategy to eliminate excess calories and prevent childhood obesity," said Y. Claire Wang, MD, ScD, assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the study's lead author.
Dr. Wang and colleagues analyzed what children and teens reported they ate and drank on two different days, using nationally representative data from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They then estimated the impact of substituting water for SSBs on the total energy intake of youths ages two to 19.
No data suggest that youths increase their consumption of other foods and beverages to compensate for drinking fewer SSBs, and so every can of soda or fruit drink that is replaced by water means a net reduction of calories. Almost 90 percent of U.S. children and adolescents currently consume SSBs on any given day, including soda, fruit drinks, punches, sports drinks and sweetened tea, and the calories contained in these drinks can represent more than 10 percent of their total daily intake. There is growing evidence that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is an important contributor to rising youth obesity rates in the United States.
"This study shows the substantial impact that replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water could have," said C. Tracy Orleans, senior scientist and distinguished fellow at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which co-funded the study along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Reversing the rise in childhood obesity requires finding approaches like this to close the gap between daily energy intake and daily energy expenditure. Changes such as this one can potentially add up to significant benefits for the population as a whole."