Drinking Soda, Risking Bone Fractures

These days, tracking down your kids might be as easy as finding the closest vending machine. Despite increasing awareness of the importance of proper nutrition, teenage consumption of snack foods and carbonated beverages is at an all-time high.

If you're not sufficiently worried by the prospect of paying for all those cavities your kids will need filled, consider the findings of a study in the June 2000 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. The study used a questionnaire to examine the dietary habits of 460 9th and 10th grade girls, including questions on carbonated beverage consumption and any history of a fracture.

Results showed that nearly 80% of the girls reported drinking carbonated beverages, with most drinking regular sodas (sugar-ladened) as opposed to artificially sweetened sodas. More disturbing, one fifth of the girls reported suffering a previous bone fracture, with consumption of carbonated beverages associated with an increased risk.

If your children drink sodas all day, they're probably not getting the necessary nutrients present in other beverages (i.e., vitamin C from orange juice or calcium from milk). As this study suggests, these deficiencies may translate not only into poor nutrition, but an increased risk of bone fractures. Teach your children about the value of a balanced diet, and ask your chiropractor to help outline a nutritional program for you and your family.

Reference:

Wyshak G. Teenaged girls, carbonated beverage consumption, and bone fractures. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, June 2000: Vol. 154, pp610-13.