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.
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