Soda Consumption - Youth

Soda Consumption - Youth in United States

United States

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 Similar findings from a 2013 study of 5-year-olds, linked soda consumption to aggression as well as withdrawn behaviors and attention issues.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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Chazelas, Eloi, Bernard Srour, Elisa Desmetz, Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot, Chantal Julia, Valérie Deschamps, Nathalie Druesne-Pecollo, et al. “Sugary Drink Consumption and Risk of Cancer: Results from NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort.” BMJ 366 (July 10, 2019). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.l2408.

Merlo, Caitlin L., Sherry Everett Jones, Shannon L. Michael, Tiffany J. Chen, Sarah A. Sliwa, Seung Hee Lee, Nancy D. Brener, Sarah M. Lee, and Sohyun Park. “Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019.” MMWR Supplements 69, no. 1 (August 21, 2020): 64–76. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su6901a8.

Michael, Shannon L., Sherry Everett Jones, Caitlin L. Merlo, Sarah A. Sliwa, Sarah M. Lee, Kelly Cornett, Nancy D. Brener, Tiffany J. Chen, Carmen L. Ashley, and Sohyun Park. “Dietary and Physical Activity Behaviors in 2021 and Changes from 2019 to 2021 Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2021.” MMWR Supplements 72, no. 1 (April 28, 2023): 75–83. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7201a9.

Miller, Gabrielle F., Sarah Sliwa, Nancy D. Brener, Sohyun Park, and Caitlin L. Merlo. “School District Policies and Adolescents’ Soda Consumption.” Journal of Adolescent Health 59, no. 1 (July 1, 2016): 17–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.02.003.

Miller, Gabrielle, Caitlin Merlo, Zewditu Demissie, Sarah Sliwa, and Sohyun Park. “Trends in Beverage Consumption Among High School Students — United States, 2007–2015.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 66, no. 4 (February 3, 2017): 112–16. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6604a5.

Mrug, Sylvie, LaRita C. Jones, Marc N. Elliott, Susan R. Tortolero, Melissa F. Peskin, and Mark A. Schuster. “Soft Drink Consumption and Mental Health in Adolescents: A Longitudinal Examination.” Journal of Adolescent Health 68, no. 1 (July 4, 2020): 155–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.05.034.

Muth, Natalie D., William H. Dietz, Sheela N. Magge, Rachel K. Johnson, Christopher F. Bolling, Sarah C. Armstrong, Matthew Allen Haemer, et al. “Public Policies to Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption in Children and Adolescents.” Pediatrics 143, no. 4 (April 1, 2019): e20190282. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-0282.

Roberto, Christina A., and Jennifer L. Pomeranz. “Public Health and Legal Arguments in Favor of a Policy to Cap the Portion Sizes of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages.” American Journal of Public Health 105, no. 11 (November 2015): 2183–90. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302862.

Singh, Gitanjali M. “Soda Consumption Among Adolescents: Implications for Low- and Middle-Income Countries.” American Journal of Public Health 107, no. 7 (July 1, 2017): 1025–27. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303855.

Suglia, Shakira F., Sara Solnick, and David Hemenway. “Soft Drinks Consumption Is Associated with Behavior Problems in 5-Year-Olds.” The Journal of Pediatrics 163, no. 5 (November 2013): 1323–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.06.023.