Americans cut back on sugary drinks for a decade starting in the early 2000s, but the rate of decline in consumption has leveled off, worrying nutritionists who warn of sugar’s link with obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
A new analysis from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that rates of drinking sugary beverages have stalled at well above the recommended limit. For instance, although the U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that children drink soda once a week or less, the new analysis found that two thirds of kids still drink it every day.
Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a January 26, 2016 Washington Post article that new public health policies are needed to keep sugary beverage consumption trending down. “We protect [kids] from alcohol, tobacco [and] guns, but not Big Soda, which is extremely insidious and cares nothing about the carnage it causes,” he said.
Read the Washington Post article: Americans were making a lot of progress cutting back on sugary drinks. Now that’s stopped.
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Daily sugary drink habit increases risk of type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke (Harvard Chan School news)
Read more stories about sugary beverages from Harvard Chan School news