Think Your Drink
There is no other single food or beverage that promotes weight gain as much as sugary drinks do. TThe link between sweetened beverage intake and obesity is undeniable. People who drink more soda, take in more calories and are heavier. Cutting back on sweet drinks and drinking more water is one of the easiest ways to lose weight.
Why do sugary drinks pour on the pounds? When people drink soda they usually don't cut back on other foods and beverages. They don't compensate. So, if you drink a 350 calorie Mountain Dew at 4:30 pm you probably won't eat less dinner. Sweet drinks just don't fill and satisfy the way that other foods and beverages do.
Cutting back on liquid calories may have more impact on losing weight than reducing solid food. Researchers tracked the calorie intake and weight change of over 800 adults (Cabellero, 2009). People who cut back on sugar-sweetened beverages had significant weight loss after six months and 18 months.
One focus group participant, a Lexington mother of three, found this out for herself. “I gave up soft drinks and lost 9 pounds in 6 months. I didn’t make any other changes.” According to her, “It was easier for me than cutting back on food. I feel better and don’t get that ‘I gotta have Pepsi feeling’ anymore.”
Drinking plenty of water gives a feeling of fullness that reduces the temptation to overeat. Sometimes we mistake thirst cues for hunger cues. If you drink enough water you’ll be less likely to eat when you really need to drink some water.
For more info check out Are You Pouring on the Pounds? Don't Drink Yourself Fat.
If you want to help your children have a healthy weight , keep sugary drinks at a minimum.
Studies show that the more sugary beverages kids drink, the heavier they are. Cutting back on sweetened drinks is considered to be one of the most promising ways to prevent childhood obesity.
Sweetened beverages include carbonated soft drinks and non-carbonated juice drinks, powdered drinks, sweetened tea, sports drinks and energy drinks. Sugar-sweetened drinks are the leading source of calories in the American diet and the leading source of sugar for youth. American children drink an average of 330 calories of sweetened beverages a day which would take them over an hour of walking to burn.
Why are kids drinking so much of the sweet stuff? Lots of reasons: an explosion of new products, advertising aimed toward youth, larger serving sizes, lower prices, increased fast food purchases with soft drinks as the main beverage, self-serve drink stations, and fewer parental limits. As tweens drink more sweetened beverages, they drink fewer nutritious beverages like milk, 100% juice and water.
We need to start thinking of the sugar in sweetened drinks as wasted calories that provide no nutritional benefit. If your kids are drinking a lot of these drinks, it’s not too late to make a change. Help them gradually cut back and learn to make water the drink of choice.
