• In a 12-ounce can of soda you’re likely to consume 150 calories containing 10 teaspoons of sugar.
• Drinking just one can a day would add over 54,000 calories to your diet in a year—the amount of calories in 15 pounds of body weight.
• Consuming one 12-ounce soda daily can increase a child’s risk of obesity by 60 percent.
• As we’ve been increasingly drinking soft drinks and other sweetened drinks we’ve also been drinking less milk, and thus getting less calcium to help build bones. Even worse, because soft drinks contain phosphorous (phosphoric acid), which in high amounts can replace calcium in bones, these drinks make bones weaker. The combination of acid and sugar can damage the enamel on kids’ teeth, causing decay.
In general soft drinks fit the junk food category — sugary foods that are high in calories and supply little or no nutrients. If you’re looking for a great drink to quench your child’s thirst try water. It’s perfect — no calories, sugar, fat, cholesterol or caffeine.
Say No to Sports Drinks
Sports drinks aren’t a healthy alternative. They were developed for enhancing athletic performance. Even though they appeal to our children on a variety of levels — eye-catching colors and flavors — they’re only beneficial for those who engage in intense physical activity for longer than 60 minutes, providing athletes with ideal levels of carbohydrates and electrolytes to replace what they lose through exercise.
Instead of soda or juice drinks, offer your child low-fat milk (1 percent after 2 years), water or 100 percent fruit juice. Although there’s no added sugar in the latter, the calories from the natural sugars found in fruit juice can add up. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends limiting juice intake to 4 to 6 ounces for children under seven years old.
Dinah Castro is a family wellness educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Suffolk.