Oslo teens who drank the most sugary soft
drinks also had more mental health problems
such as hyperactivity and distress, Norwegian
researchers reported.
Their study of more
than 5,000 Norwegian 15- and 16-year-olds
showed a clear and direct association between
soft drink intake and hyperactivity, and a
more complex link with other mental and behavioral
disorders.
They surveyed the students, asking them how
many fizzy soft drinks with sugar they had
a day, and then questions from a standard
questionnaire used to assess mental health.
The teens who reported skipping breakfast
and lunch were among the heaviest soft drink
consumers, Dr. Lars Lien and colleagues at
the University of Oslo found.
"There was a strong association between soft
drink consumption and mental health problems
among Oslo 10th graders," they wrote in their
report, published in the American Journal
of Public Health.
"This association remained significant after
adjustment for social, behavioral and food-related
disorders."
Most of the students said they drank anywhere
between one and six servings of soft drinks
per week.
Those who drank no soft drinks at all were
more likely than moderate drinkers to have
mental health symptoms, the researchers said.
But those who drank the most -- more than
six servings a week - had the highest scores.
For hyperactivity, there was a direct linear
relationship -- the more sodas a teen drank,
the most symptoms of hyperactivity he or she
had.
The worst problems were seen in boys and
girls who drank four or more soft drinks a
day. Ten percent of the boys and 2 percent
of the girls drank this much.
The researchers said it was possible that
other substances in the soft drinks, such
as caffeine, were to blame for the symptoms,
and they did not check other possible sources
of refined sugar in the children's diets.
But they said many of the teens were clearly
drinking too many sugary drinks. Norway's
recommended intake is 10 percent of the day's
total calories from sugar and the researchers
said at least a quarter of the boys were getting
this much from soft drinks alone.
"One simple and effective measure to reduce
soft drink consumption in this age group would
be to remove soft drink machines from schools
and other public places where adolescents
gather," they wrote.
