Remember beverages add calories to diet, too

People conscious about their weight or trying to lose weight usually focus on what's on their plates. A recent study suggests that those individuals might benefit from taking a closer look at what's in their cups, glasses, and car drink holders as well.

The study, What America Drinks, used data from 10,000 Americans ages four and older who participated in a nationwide survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. Some of the key findings as they relate to nutrition and health are cause for concern.

On average, beverages supplied 22 percent of calories in the diet. Nutrient-poor, sweetened beverages--such as soft drinks, fruit-flavored drinks and presweetened teas -- were the largest contributors.

Choice of beverage appears to be related to body weight and overall diet quality. Teenagers and adults who drank large amounts of sweetened beverages and little milk tended to weigh more than those who drank more milk and fewer sweetened beverages.

Teenagers and adults drank two to three times the amount of sweetened beverages as they did milk. On average, teen boys drank 32 ounces of sweetened beverages a day. Teen girls drank 22 ounces of sweetened beverages a day--that's about 260 calories a day or an extra 8,000 calories a month. 3,500 calories equal a pound of body fat. At about 10 teaspoons of sugar in a 12-ounce can of soda pop, a lot of sugar is being consumed in the form of drinks.

When Extension does nutrition programs in school classrooms, we sometimes do an activity to help youth realize how much sugar is in soft drinks. The students use a formula to figure the number of bags of sugar they consume in the form of soft drinks. One 12-ounce can of soda pop a day provides the equivalent of one pound of sugar a week, or a four pound bag of sugar each month! We also eat many other foods that contain sugar, also, resulting in an average of about 125 pounds of sugar each year for every person.

According to the study, teen boys drank only 12 ounces of milk a day and teen girls averaged less than seven ounces. About one-tenth of the daily calories consumed by teen boys were in the form of soft drinks. Teens should be drinking three to four cups of milk, or equivalent dairy products, each day to build strong bones. Calcium stored in bones during their growing years will affect bone health for the rest of their lives.

Women in the preteen through young adult years who consumed high amounts of milk and low amounts of sweetened beverages had lower body mass indexes than whose who drank high amounts of sweetened beverages and low amounts of milk, regardless of total calorie intake.

By drinking more lowfat and fat-free milk in place of sweetened beverages, people can improve their intakes of the important nutrients such as calcium, vitamin A, magnesium and potassium. The same healthful beverages may also be beneficial in weight management.

In the summertime, when participating in outside activities and when dehydration can occur, the best beverage choice is water. Water is absorbed by the cells in the body more quickly than other beverages. Cool water absorbs more readily than warm, hot, or ice water.

The complete report of the What America Drinks study can be found at www.thinkaboutyourdrink.com.

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Editor's Note: Ann E. Ludlum is a K-State Research and Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent assigned to Bourbon County. She can be reached at (620) 223-3720 or by E-mail at: aludlum@oznet.ksu.edu