Over the past two decades, the number of adults
consuming sugar-sweetened beverages such as
soft drinks and fruit punches has increased dramatically,
according to a study led by researchers at
the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Researchers examined changes over the past two decades
in the consumption of sugar-
sweetened beverages based on nationally representative
survey data and found that they comprise a
significant source of total daily beverage intake and are
the largest source of beverage calories
consumed daily. Their results are published in the January
2009 issue of the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition.
"More adults are drinking sugar-sweetened beverages,
and among those drinkers, consumption
has increased," said Sara N. Bleich, lead author of the
study and assistant professor in the Bloomberg
School's Department
of Health Policy and Management. "From 1988 to 2004,
the percentage of sugar-
sweetened-beverage drinkers increased 5 percent. Per capita
consumption of energy from sugar-
sweetened beverages increased 46 kilocalories per day, and
daily sugar-sweetened-beverage
consumption among drinkers increased 6 ounces per day."
The study also examined trends in the consumption of
sugar-sweetened beverages by age,
race/ethnicity and weight loss intention. Consumption was
highest (231-289 kcal/day) among young
adults, who consumed roughly 20 percent of their
sugar-sweetened-beverage calories at work, and
lowest (68-83 kcal/day) among the elderly. Among
race/ethnicity groups, the percentage of sugar-
sweetened-beverage drinkers and per capita consumption of
sugar-sweetened beverages was highest
among blacks, followed by Mexican-Americans.
Overweight/obese adults who were trying to lose
weight were less likely to drink sugar-sweetened beverages
compared to those who were not, but they
still consumed a considerable amount (278 kcal/day) from
1999 to 2004.
Using dietary data collected in the National Health
and Nutrition Examination Surveys (1988-94
and 1999-2004), researchers examined national trends in the
consumption of sugar-sweetened
beverages (percentage of drinkers, amount consumed,
consumption location and type of beverage)
among U.S. adults. Bleich and her colleagues identified six
mutually exclusive beverage categories:
sugar-sweetened beverages (soft drinks, sports drinks,
fruit drinks and punches, low-calorie drinks,
sweetened tea and other sweetened beverages); 100 percent
juice; diet beverages; milk; coffee or
tea; and alcohol.
Earlier studies have linked consumption of
sugar-sweetened beverages to the obesity epidemic,
which affects two-thirds of adults and increases the risk
for adverse health conditions such as type 2
diabetes. Adults are considered to be overweight if their
body mass index is 25 or higher and obese if
30 or higher.
"Although this analysis does not attempt to estimate
the effect of sugar-sweetened-beverage
intake on obesity incidence, a number of studies have
linked sugar-sweetened-beverage consumption to
obesity and type 2 diabetes," said study author Youfa Wang,
associate professor with the Bloomberg
School's Center for Human
Nutrition. "Based on these nationally representative
surveys, our study
found higher sugar-sweetened-beverage consumption also
happened to be among populations at
greater risk for obesity. There are few signs of
improvement over the past decade, and the situation
seems to become worse among young adults aged 20 to 44."
According to Bleich and colleagues, efforts to reduce
sugar-sweetened-beverage consumption
may be an important strategy for reducing empty calorie
intake in the adult diet in the United States.
The study was written by Sara Bleich, Y. Claire Wang,
Youfa Wang and Steven L. Gortmaker.
The researchers were supported in part by the Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, grant
57891.