February 26, 2001 Silver Spring, Maryland, USA .... [Bettina Krause/ANN]

As children and teenagers consume increasing quantities of sugary soft drinks, they put themselves at a dramatically greater risk of obesity, says a new study released February 15. The study, published in The Lancet medical journal, found that for each additional soft drink consumed, the risk of a child becoming obese increased by up to 50 percent.

"This study confirms what nutritionists have long believed," says Dr. DeWitt Williams, health department director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America. "Young people who replace healthy drinks--like water, milk, or fruit juice--with nutritionally empty, sugar-laden soft drinks, are not only depriving their bodies of much-needed nutrients, but are setting themselves up for future health problems."

Williams points out that, according to the study results, this risk of obesity was unrelated to what the children ate, how often they exercised, or the hours of television they watched each week.

"An additional factor, not mentioned in the study, is that many of these soft drinks contain caffeine and large amounts of phosphorous," says Williams. "Large amounts of phosphorous can interfere with the bones' ability to absorb calcium, which in teenage girls especially represents a greater risk for bone fractures and osteoporosis later in life."

The Adventist Church, known for its promotion of vegetarianism and abstinence from alcohol and other non-medicinal drugs, provides information on balanced eating and positive living. For more information call (U.S.) 301-680-6733.