Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: A Look at the Facts
Sweetened beverages, sometimes known as sugar-sweetened beverages or SSBs, range from carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks to energy drinks and vitamin and other sweetened waters.
Here are some facts about sugar-sweetened beverages:
- Approximately one-half of the population 2 years of age and older consumes sugar drinks on any given day
- Males consume an average of 178 calories from sugar drinks daily, while women consume 103 calories
- People who drink sodas, juices, and other caloric beverages do not compensate for these calories by consuming fewer calories in food, which is a major factor contributing to overweight and obesity
- People who drink sugary sodas consume more calories overall than those who do not
- Individuals who drink sugar-sweetened beverages consume fewer healthful beverages, such as milk, water, and 100% fruit juices, compared to those who do not drink sodas
- Most carbonated beverages, fruit drinks, fruit juices, iced teas, sports drinks, and energy drinks contain similar calories, from 120 to 160 calories/12-fluid-ounce (fl oz) serving—the body processes these beverages the same way it processes sugar
- Soda servings have increased over the years:
- A typical 20-fl-oz soda contains 15 teaspoons (tsp) of sugar
- The average sports drink contains approximately 10 tsp of sugar
- Soda consumption may contribute to dental decay because of:
- The sugar in regular soda
- Acids in both diet and regular soda
- To burn off the 250 calories in a 20-fl-oz soda, a 135-pound person would need to:
- Walk 3 miles in 45 minutes
- Play 40 minutes of vigorous basketball
- Bicycle vigorously for 22 minutes
References and recommended readings
Mello MM, Pomeranz J, Moran P. The interplay of public health law and industry self-regulation: the case of sugar-sweetened beverage sales in schools. Am J Public Health. 2008;98(4):595-604.
Ogden CL, Kit BK, Carroll MD, Park S. Consumption of sugar drinks in the United States, 2005-2008: NCHS Date Brief 71. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db71.pdf. Accessed May 3, 2013.
Popkin BM. Patterns of beverage use across the lifecyle. Physiol Behav. 2010;100(1):4-9.
Van Horn L, Johnson RK, Flickinger BD, Vafiadis DK, Yin-Piazza S; Added Sugars Conference Planning Group. Translation and implementation of added sugars consumption recommendations: a conference report from the American Heart Association Added Sugars Conference 2010. Circulation. 2010;122(23):2470-2490. doi:10.1161/CIR.0b013e3181ffdcb0.
Fountain machines / Calories and sugar in each drink
|Mtn. Dew Code Red||77g||280|
|Brisk Iced Tea-Unsweet|
|Wild Cherry Pepsi||70g||260|
|Mtn. Dew Kickstart Black Cherry||26g||110|
|Diet Mtn. Dew|
|Diet Dr. Pepper|
|Barq’s Root Beer||75g||270|
|Gold Peak Sweetened||53g||200|
*American Heart Association: Shouldn’t have more than 36g(M) 24g(W) of added sugar/day.