- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- recipes today articles
- recipes today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Putting a Stop to Soda Pop
Why Too Much Is Hurting Your Kids
By Kelly Burgess
Worse yet is that these 12-ounce cans of pop are becoming pass笠"When we were kids, pop came in cute little bottles with something like 6 or 8 ounces, and we had one occasionally as a treat," says Bark. "Now it's 20-ounce cans, which contain 15 teaspoons of sugar, and these drinks are readily accessible everywhere, all the time."
But the problem isn't just that kids are drinking too much pop, it's also that soda has become a substitute for other healthier drinks, such as milk and water, that children need for growing bodies.
A recent Mayo Clinic study showed the dangers of this type of substitution. It found that forearm fractures are on the rise among both adolescent boys and girls. The study's primary investigator, Dr. Sundeep Khosla, a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist, theorizes that the increase in soda pop consumption may be partially responsible – for more reasons than one.
"The most likely reason is that the soda replaces milk consumption, leading to lower calcium intake," says Dr. Khosla. "There is an ongoing debate about whether the phosphate load from drinking soda may, in itself, be bad for bone."
What it is definitely bad for is weight. At the end of 2003, many news organizations picked childhood obesity as the story of the year. This means it topped war, terrorism and high-profile celebrity court cases. It would be naive to think soda pop wasn't one of the culprits.
Melinda Sothern, an exercise physiologist and author of Trim Kids: The Proven 12-Week Plan That Has Helped Thousands of Children Achieve a Healthier Weight
