Soda Consumption - Youth in New Hampshire

New Hampshire

Reducing sugary drink consumption is a public health concern worldwide. Soda has little to no nutritional value and is associated with many adverse health outcomes. An 8-ounce serving of carbonated soda contains about 24-30 grams of added sugar, more than half of an entire day’s recommended sugar intake. 

The United States has made some progress in reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption; however, 6 in 10 youths still consumed a sugar-sweetened drink daily between 2011 and 2014. Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has been linked to an increased risk of multiple diseases, including obesity, tooth decay, stroke, cardiovascular disease, cancer and Type 2 diabetes. Recent research has found that frequent soda consumption is associated with increased aggressive behavior among early adolescents. Similar findings from a 2013 study of 5-year-olds, linked soda consumption to aggression as well as withdrawn behaviors and attention issues.

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is higher among:

• Teenage boys compared with teenage girls. 
• American Indian/Alaska Native, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, white, Black, Hispanic and multiracial children compared with Asian children. 

Reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among youth requires a multipronged approach involving families, schools and communities. Examples of strategies to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among children and adolescents include:

• Implementing the Smart Snacks in School program, which sets a national nutrition requirement for all snacks sold in schools and includes limits on sugar.
• Introducing legislative limits on portion sizes for sugar-sweetened beverages. 
• Regulating marketing and advertisements for soda and sugar-sweetened beverages in school zones. According to one study, students in school districts with restrictions on soda products and advertisements had decreased odds of consuming soda regularly.
• Limiting marketing that targets children via social media, computers, television and video games. 
• Implementing a sugar-sweetened beverage tax and advertisement warning labels addressing the health-related costs of added sugar.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also offers several tips for breaking soda consumption habits and making healthier beverage choices.

Healthy People 2030 has a goal to reduce the consumption of calories from added sugars by people ages 2 and older.

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