I was born in a simpler time. Back then, soda pop was an occasional treat, not an everyday (or twice a day) habit. In 1952, Americans on average drank 11.5 gallons of carbonated, caloric soft drinks per year. I doubt that I personally accounted for any of 1,786,100,000 gallons of cola, root beer, red pop, etc., produced and consumed in the U.S. that year, but a decade later, when per capita availability had increased to 14.5 gallons per year, I was doing my part. I continued drinking my … [Read more...]
American teens’ drinking problem: too much sugar
A survey released by the CDC this week shows that U.S. high school students are getting plenty of carbs and calories in liquid form each day. More than 11,000 students were asked what beverages they had consumed one or more times per day during the previous week. Most news reports focused on the 25% of all teens who said they drank pop every day. But from the standpoint of obesity, 100% fruit juice and other sweet beverages are no better. … [Read more...]