Toronto, June 17 (IANS) Soft drinks and other
sweetened beverages don't contribute to childhood obesity, though it may
increase the risk factor among boys aged 6-11 years, says a new study.
The study examined the link between beverage intake patterns of children and their risk for obesity.
"We
found sweetened drinks to be dominant beverages during childhood, but
saw no consistent association between beverage intake patterns and
overweight and obesity," says Susan J. Whiting, professor of nutrition
and dietetics from Canada's University of Saskatchewan, who led the
study, the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism
reports.
"Food and beverage habits are formed early in life and
are often maintained into adulthood. Overconsumption of sweetened
beverages may put some children at increased risk for overweight and
obesity," said Whiting, according to a Saskatchewan statement.
"Indeed,
boys aged 6-11 years who consumed mostly soft drinks were shown to be
at increased risk for overweight and obesity as compared with those who
drank a more moderate beverage pattern," added Whiting.
The
researchers determined beverage consumption patterns among Canadian
children aged two years using cluster analysis where socio-demographics,
ethnicity, household income, and food security were significantly
different across the clusters.
Data were divided into different age and gender groups and beverage preferences were studied.
For
this study the sweetened, low-nutrient beverages, categorised according
to Canada's Food Guide, consisted of fruit-flavoured beverages,
beverages with less than 100 percent fruit juice, lemonades, regular
soft drinks, and sweetened coffees or teas.