Soft Drinks, Hard Facts

The soda industry pays schools millions in its efforts to sell to students. But research suggests kikds who drink a lot of soft drinks risk becoming fat, weak-boned, cavity-prone and caffeine-addicted

Americans drink more soda pop than ever before. These popular beverages account for more than a quarter of all drinks consumed in the United States. More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000. That works out to at least one 12-ounce can per day for every man, woman and child.

Kids are heavy consumers of soft drinks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they are guzzling soda pop at unprecedented rates. Carbonated soda pop provides more added sugar in a typical 2-year-old toddler's diet than cookies, candies and ice cream combined. Fifty-six percent of 8-year-olds down soft drinks daily, and a third of teenage boys drink at least three cans of soda pop per day.

Not only are soft drinks widely available everywhere, from fast food restaurants to video stores, they're now sold in 60 percent of all public and private middle schools and high schools nationwide, according to the National Soft Drink Association. A few schools are even giving away soft drinks to students who buy school lunches.

As soda pop becomes the beverage of choice among the nation's young -- and as soda marketers focus on brand-building among younger and younger consumers -- public health officials, school boards, parents, consumer groups and even the soft drink industry are faced with nagging questions: How healthful are these beverages, which provide a lot calories, sugars and caffeine but no significant nutritional value? And what happens if you drink a lot of them at a very young age?

Beginning tomorrow, representatives of the soft drink industry, concerned that public opinion and public policy may turn against them, will stage a three-day "fly-in" to lobby Congress to maintain soft drinks sales in schools -- and to educate lawmakers on the "proper perspective" on soft drink use. The industry plans to counter a U.S. Department of Agriculture proposal, announced in January, that would require all foods sold in schools to meet federal nutrition standards. That would mean that snack foods and soft drinks would have to meet the same standards as school lunches.

Some state legislators are already taking steps to limit soft drink sales to youngsters. In Maryland, a bill introduced by Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George's) would prohibit sales of soft drinks and other non-nutritious foods in schools until after 3 p.m. Current law says vending machines can't be turned on until after the final lunch period.

Nearly everyone by now has heard the litany on the presumed health effects of soft drinks: Obesity. Tooth decay. Caffeine dependence. Weakened bones. But does drinking soda pop really cause those things?

Even the staunchest critics of soft drinks say finding the scientific bottom line on soda pop can be maddeningly tricky. "It's hard to pull out the health effects of soft drinks from the whole diet," says Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and author of a critical report on soft drinks called "Liquid Candy: How Soft Drinks Are Harming Americans' Health." "There are relatively few studies on sugars. And some studies don't distinguish between naturally occurring sugars and refined sugars."

To help separate fact from fiction, the Health section reviewed the latest scientific findings and asked an array of experts on both sides of the debate to weigh in on the topic. Be forewarned, however: Compared with the data available on tobacco and even dietary fat, the scientific evidence on soft drinks is less developed. The results can be a lot like soft drinks themselves, both sweet and sticky.

Obesity

One very recent, independent, peer-reviewed study demonstrates a strong link between soda consumption and childhood obesity. One previous industry-supported, unpublished study showed no link. Explanations of the mechanism by which soda may lead to obesity have not yet been proved, though the evidence for them is strong.

Many people have long assumed that soda -- high in calories and sugar, low in nutrients -- can make kids fat. But until this month there was no solid, scientific evidence demonstrating this.