18/06/12

A new study says that childhood obesity is not caused by soft drinks and sweetened beverages.

The study, undertaken by researchers at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada and published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, reports that most children who consume such drinks are at no greater risk of obesity than those of their peers who do not.

Boys aged between six and eleven, however, were found to be at high risk.

"We found sweetened drinks to be dominant beverages during childhood, but saw no consistent association between beverage intake patterns and overweight and obesity," said lead author Susan Whiting.

Backdrop to the research was the simultaneous rise of soft drink consumption among children over a number of years, and the growing prevalence of childhood obesity over the same period.

The study, which analysed the habits of children between two and eighteen, concludes that the main predictors of childhood obesity are household income, ethnicity and food security.

The research characterised the target drinks as fruit-flavoured beverages, beverages with less than 100% fruit juice, lemonades, regular soft drinks, and sweetened coffees or teas.

The findings of the study are counter to some previously reported studies, such as one published in The Lancet which claimed that each additional soft drink consumed by a child each day increased its chances of becoming obese by 60%.