Soft Fizzy Drinks Linked to Obesity and Behavioural Problems in Children

Americans buy more soft drinks per capita than people in any other country. 

These drinks are consumed by individuals of all ages, including very young children. 

Image Credit: © sfmthd / Fotolia

Although soft drink consumption is associated with aggression, depression, and suicidal thoughts in adolescents, the relationship had not been evaluated in younger children.

A new study scheduled for publication in the Journal of Pediatrics finds that aggression, attention problems, and withdrawal behaviour are all associated with soft drink consumption in young children.

Shakira Suglia, ScD, and colleagues from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, University of Vermont, and Harvard School of Public Health assessed approximately 3,000 5-year-old children enrolled in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a prospective birth cohort that follows mother-child pairs from 20 large U.S. cities.

Shakira Suglia

Mothers reported their child's soft drink consumption and completed the Child Behaviour Checklist based on their child's behaviour during the previous two months.

The researchers found that 43% of the children consumed at least 1 serving of soft drinks per day, and 4% consumed 4 or more.

Aggression, withdrawal, and attention problems were associated with soda consumption.

Even after adjusting for socio-demographic factors, maternal depression, intimate partner violence, and paternal incarceration, any soft drink consumption was associated with increased aggressive behavior.

Children who drank 4 or more soft drinks per day were more than twice as likely to destroy things belonging to others, get into fights, and physically attack people.

They also had increased attention problems and withdrawal behaviour compared with those who did not consume soft drinks.

According to Dr. Suglia, "We found that the child's aggressive behaviour score increased with every increase in soft drinks servings per day."

Although this study cannot identify the exact nature of the association between soft drink consumption and problem behaviors, limiting or eliminating a child's soft drink consumption may reduce behavioural problems.

Journal Reference: Shakira F. Suglia, Sara Solnick, and David Hemenway. Soft Drinks Consumption Is Associated with Behavior Problems in 5-Year-Olds. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.06.023