Sweetness and kids
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat. America’s kids have been growing a liquid sweet tooth. Researchers say children and teen-agers get 10 percent to 15 percent of their daily calories from sugar-sweetened beverages or 100 percent fruit juice. Claire Wang of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and her colleagues, base that on national survey data from 1988 into 2004. It adds up to a lot of calories. Wang has this example: "A typical adolescent male who consumed this much sweetened beverages would need to run for an hour – or about six to eight miles – in order to burn off these liquid calories." (8 seconds) Wang says plain no-cal water could be a better choice. The study in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal Pediatrics was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Learn more at hhs.gov. HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss. Last revised: May, 30 2008 | 
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