Do Soda Drinks Cause Obesity?

[jonathon]

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I would like to know what people think about this issue. I have my own thoughts but want to get other views besides the literature.

 

[Prospero]

I've dropped about 10 pounds since switching to diet... of course I drank a lot of soda so maybe I'm an extreme. Either way, I feel much better now.

 

[DrBowtie]

Poor personal choices pertaining to drinking Cokes (Yes all carbonated drinks are Cokes, you know where I am from regionally).

The Cokes themselves don't do anything other than taste delicious.

 

[bananaface]

Excess caloric intake is the culprit. It doesn't matter if it comes in the form of sugary soda or Special K.

 

[THP]

Excess caloric intake is the culprit. It doesn't matter if it comes in the form of sugary soda or Special K.

The problem is that cokes are so easy to suck down one after the other, that you can ingest calories at a very rapid rate.

 

[Taus]

ask yourself this question: Do you think drinking a few extra hundred calories per day of pure sugar (ie high fructose corn syrup) will add to weight gain? Compare that to a person who drinks water and diet drinks. Lets say someone is drinking 24oz of soda per day, in addition to their normal diet. (Figure that is roughly 250 kcals. ) So 250 kcals extra per day x 7 days a week = 1750 kcals a week extra from soda (just an example...its easy to drink much more then that). What does all this mean?? ----> A pound of fat is 3500kcals. So in two weeks of drinking 2 glasses of soda a day, you have added an extra 3500kcals to your diet...and a pound of fat to your body. Compare this to someone with the same diet who isn't drinking these 2 glasses of soda per day, and that is a pound of fat that they didn't gain.

Keep in mind, not everyone who drinks soda gains weight like this. I just wrote that so you can understand where this easy weight gain can potentially come from. If one was to adjust his/her diet to allow for the soda (ie take the cals out of somehting else throughout the day) then there is no net increase in caloric intake and no weight gain.

In the end it all comes down to calories in vs. calories out....simple as that....

 

[bananaface]

The problem is that cokes are so easy to suck down one after the other, that you can ingest calories at a very rapid rate.

Do Pixie Sticks cause obesity? 😛

 

[psipsina]

I think the problem is a lack of awareness of how much sugar (particularly high fructose corn syrup which is even worse than pure sugar) is in these beverages. The average american doesn't think about the consequences of having yet another glass of soda, they only think about calories when they are eating food. Also soda doesn't fill you up like high calorie foods, so you just keep having more because you are thirsty (and they don't hydrate you either) and it doesn't fill you up and stop you from eating more calories. Even most juices are loaded up with high fructose corn syrup, so even when people try to be more healthy they may be injesting more empty calories than they intended.

 

[gostudy]

In the end it all comes down to calories in vs. calories out....simple as that....

and billions of dollars could be saved if people would just adhere to this simple formula.

 

[jonathon]

What most people don't know is high fructose intake increases adipogenesis and shifts to lipogenesis. I'm not sold on the kcal theory that was posted above. There might be more to it. For example, there might have been a selection against a gene that has a function in fructose breakdown. This could cause a shift in how humans breakdown fructose and discard it after energy expenditure. A slower breakdown of fructose and lower exercise (leading to lower metabolism rates) can cause a slower breakdown of fructose and as a result there is a higher percentage of adipogenesis. Obesity was not as rapid as it is now 30 years ago when people still drank sodas. People did not have this obesity problem when they drank coffee in the 1500’s.

 

[THP]

What most people don't know is high fructose intake increases adipogenesis and shifts to lipogenesis. I'm not sold on the kcal theory that was posted above. There might be more to it. For example, there might have been a selection against a gene that has a function in fructose breakdown. This could cause a shift in how humans breakdown fructose and discard it after energy expenditure. A slower breakdown of fructose and lower exercise (leading to lower metabolism rates) can cause a slower breakdown of fructose and as a result there is a higher percentage of adipogenesis. Obesity was not as rapid as it is now 30 years ago when people still drank sodas. People did not have this obesity problem when they drank coffee in the 1500’s.

This explanation does not make any sense. If you could clarify what you are trying to say it would be appreciated.

Still, unless the laws of physics have changed you cannot create something from nothing. If you expend more energy than you consume (in the form of chemical energy) it is impossible to gain weight - assuming your Na/water regulation and cardiac function is normal. It is possible to gain weight through edema.

30 years ago people got a lot more exercise, besides 30 years is not enough time for a gene to be selected in a population.

 

[Chris127]

This thread is pretty pointless. Do sodas cause obesity? Yes and no. Its not like drinking one soda is going to make you puff up like a navy lifeboat. On the other hand, one who drinks multiple sodas per day over extended time may add some weight. This also depends on genes and just how much soda one actually consumes. If it really bothers you, just drink diet.

 

[TacoStand]

It's all a calorie game. If In - Out > 0 consistently, you are going to gain weight. What percentage of your intake is sodas or rather Cokes?

For me, it was huge - probably ~1000 calories a day. I switched to diet sodas and lost 25-30 pounds without any other changes such as exercise or non-liquid food intake. The wieght has been off for ~3 years.

It was an easy thing for me to do that had a huge impact.

Now for the other damage I'm doing to my body via the diet drinks..... 🙂

 

[Tiagao]

Poor personal choices pertaining to drinking Cokes

The Cokes themselves don't do anything other than taste delicious.

 

[beastmaster]

It's the government. They put hunger pills in our cheeseburgers.

 

[Law2Doc]

This explanation does not make any sense. If you could clarify what you are trying to say it would be appreciated.

Still, unless the laws of physics have changed you cannot create something from nothing. If you expend more energy than you consume (in the form of chemical energy) it is impossible to gain weight - assuming your Na/water regulation and cardiac function is normal. It is possible to gain weight through edema.

30 years ago people got a lot more exercise, besides 30 years is not enough time for a gene to be selected in a population.

Though I also don't quite understand what he's saying either, it is becoming clear that a big component of obesity is genetics. Some people can drink 7 cokes a day and stay thin. Others can gain weight on 3. It is not simply caloric -- it is how your body uses those calories. Sure. if you consumed no more than you metabolized, you would remain constant. But the amount of fat, muscle in your body, and the levels of your hormones and other chemical factors determine how well you can store and/or burn the fat, and a lot of that is genetic, and not something one can realistically know or measure, other than by trial and error with a fork and a scale. There is also developing science in the genetics of hunger, suggesting that that drive toward becoming obese is at least partially genetically determined too.
I do question your statement as to whether folks got more exercise 30 years ago. The personal trainer, gym membership phenomenon seems to have taken off for some segments of society since those days. (I think your statement is true in respect to children, thanks to video games and TV.) More likely the free-refill, super size me, fast food gimmicks make it easier for those prone to obesity to splurge. Portion sizes are simply larger today than they were 30 years ago, and thanks to science, probably calorically more dense, for a pretty low price. But I don't think you could say soda alone is to blame.

 

[happydays]

soda doesn't cause obesity, people cause obesity.

 

[Taus]

Though I also don't quite understand what he's saying either, it is becoming clear that a big component of obesity is genetics. Some people can drink 7 cokes a day and stay thin. Others can gain weight on 3. It is not simply caloric -- it is how your body uses those calories. Sure. if you consumed no more than you metabolized, you would remain constant. But the amount of fat, muscle in your body, and the levels of your hormones and other chemical factors determine how well you can store and/or burn the fat, and a lot of that is genetic, and not something one can realistically know or measure, other than by trial and error with a fork and a scale. There is also developing science in the genetics of hunger, suggesting that that drive toward becoming obese is at least partially genetically determined too.
I do question your statement as to whether folks got more exercise 30 years ago. The personal trainer, gym membership phenomenon seems to have taken off for some segments of society since those days. (I think your statement is true in respect to children, thanks to video games and TV.) More likely the free-refill, super size me, fast food gimmicks make it easier for those prone to obesity to splurge. Portion sizes are simply larger today than they were 30 years ago, and thanks to science, probably calorically more dense, for a pretty low price. But I don't think you could say soda alone is to blame.

I hate to disagree...but there is absolutely no way that genetics have changed much in the past 30 or so years .....and thus cannot account for the tremendous recent surge in obesity. I do agree that some people have the genetics, metabolism, etc to stay thinner then the avg person....but there were just as many people like that 30 years ago and we are much fatter as a society today. The factors that you mention at the end of your post are the most likely causes. Portion size, easy access to cheap food quickly, technology leading to less manual labor/exercise, etc....it adds up...

 

[THP]

Though I also don't quite understand what he's saying either, it is becoming clear that a big component of obesity is genetics. Some people can drink 7 cokes a day and stay thin. Others can gain weight on 3. It is not simply caloric -- it is how your body uses those calories. Sure. if you consumed no more than you metabolized, you would remain constant. But the amount of fat, muscle in your body, and the levels of your hormones and other chemical factors determine how well you can store and/or burn the fat, and a lot of that is genetic, and not something one can realistically know or measure, other than by trial and error with a fork and a scale. There is also developing science in the genetics of hunger, suggesting that that drive toward becoming obese is at least partially genetically determined too.
I do question your statement as to whether folks got more exercise 30 years ago. The personal trainer, gym membership phenomenon seems to have taken off for some segments of society since those days. (I think your statement is true in respect to children, thanks to video games and TV.) More likely the free-refill, super size me, fast food gimmicks make it easier for those prone to obesity to splurge. Portion sizes are simply larger today than they were 30 years ago, and thanks to science, probably calorically more dense, for a pretty low price. But I don't think you could say soda alone is to blame.

I was not suggesting that soda alone is the cause of obesity. Without question people have different BMRs which is genetically controlled. Those with a slower metabolism need to be aware of it and reduce the amount of food they eat. This doesn't change the calories in minus calories out equation. As I enter my later 20s this is something I am becoming painfully aware of and I am reducing the amount of food I eat. I don't burn nearly as many calories as I did when I was younger.

When I lived in Walnut Creek, CA there were plenty of skinny people who went to the gym all the time. Now that I live in NC, there are way more fat people. The gym phenomenon is very regional.

 

[THP]

Also, the point of doing the studies that try to understand the feeding mechanism is so we develop interventions to curb that mechanism in those who do not have the will power.

Obviously this is not ideal - everyone wants a magic pill that solves all their problems. As long as we live in a consumer driven society, I guess it makes sense that medicine will try to meet the demand.

 

[Saluki]

Soda doesn't cause weight gain any more than any other kind of food. The problem is that because it doesn't fill your stomach like pasta or even fruit, you're getting a bunch of calories but not feeling any more full...

 

[potato51]

It contributes. When I started college I cut sodas out completely and got to choose my own food for once and lost a ton of weight as a result.

 

[Law2Doc]

I hate to disagree...but there is absolutely no way that genetics have changed much in the past 30 or so years .....and thus cannot account for the tremendous recent surge in obesity. I do agree that some people have the genetics, metabolism, etc to stay thinner then the avg person....but there were just as many people like that 30 years ago and we are much fatter as a society today. The factors that you mention at the end of your post are the most likely causes. Portion size, easy access to cheap food quickly, technology leading to less manual labor/exercise, etc....it adds up...

The genetics haven't changed in 30 years, but I was actually suggesting that there was always a genetic bomb laying buried in people waiting for the trigger -- i.e. calorically dense fast food, free refill big-gulp sodas and super-sized portions. This latter change over the last 30 years set off what has always been there perhaps as a remnant from the days when we were hunter gathers on low food supply. Some folks have this ticking bomb and were launched on a path of destruction by the change in diet, while others had different genes and weren't damaged. So I would suggest that rather than causes, those things are the trigger. But the weapon has to be loaded (genetically) for it to do any damage.

 

[Moxxie]

I think it's odd that this study from last year hasn't been brought up yet (and if it has, blame my skim-reading):

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/107/108476.htm

Although I really think that this link has more to do with general eating habits - the people that gain weight while drinking diet soda could be those that say "give me a big mac, super-size fries and a DIET coke."

I admit that I drink quite a bit of diet soda - for the caffeine and taste. I avoid sodas with calories at almost all costs. If the choice is between a sugary drink and water, I'll take the water. I should probably drink just the water, not the diet soda at all (I need to lose some weight myself). But I don't delude myself that drinking diet soda will cause me to lose weight - I need to cut down calories overall and exercise more. But that's a whole other issue!

 

[Law2Doc]

I think it's odd that this study from last year hasn't been brought up yet (and if it has, blame my skim-reading):

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/107/108476.htm

Although I really think that this link has more to do with general eating habits - the people that gain weight while drinking diet soda could be those that say "give me a big mac, super-size fries and a DIET coke."

I admit that I drink quite a bit of diet soda - for the caffeine and taste. I avoid sodas with calories at almost all costs. If the choice is between a sugary drink and water, I'll take the water. I should probably drink just the water, not the diet soda at all (I need to lose some weight myself). But I don't delude myself that drinking diet soda will cause me to lose weight - I need to cut down calories overall and exercise more. But that's a whole other issue!

I think the very last sentence in that article is the most telling and likely, rather than the suppositions in the rest of the article. It also should be noted that caffeine tends to be disfavored on many diets (eg. Atkins), as it supposedly does something with your insullin. That may play a part too.

 

[jonathon]

The non-hardcore studies like this one is what gets people confused.

I think it's odd that this study from last year hasn't been brought up yet (and if it has, blame my skim-reading):

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/107/108476.htm

Although I really think that this link has more to do with general eating habits - the people that gain weight while drinking diet soda could be those that say "give me a big mac, super-size fries and a DIET coke."

I admit that I drink quite a bit of diet soda - for the caffeine and taste. I avoid sodas with calories at almost all costs. If the choice is between a sugary drink and water, I'll take the water. I should probably drink just the water, not the diet soda at all (I need to lose some weight myself). But I don't delude myself that drinking diet soda will cause me to lose weight - I need to cut down calories overall and exercise more. But that's a whole other issue!

 

[jonathon]

In one of my lectures today, there were two students who had sodas with them during class. Therefore, I was analyzing their behaviors during lecture (the lecture was boring and didn't learn anything new) and I was not surprised by their behavior. Here is what took place. The professor asked five questions during lecture where the two students participated in the answers. Of the five questions asked, one of the two students answered three questions. After answering the three questions the student (an overweight female) would take a drink of diet coke. I find this behavior interesting. The other 2 questions were answered by a male (an overweight male) that took drinks of mountain dew after answering the two questions. No other students that I noticed had drinks with them during lecture.

 

[THP]

In one of my lectures today, there were two students who had sodas with them during class. Therefore, I was analyzing their behaviors during lecture (the lecture was boring and didn't learn anything new) and I was not surprised by their behavior. Here is what took place. The professor asked five questions during lecture where the two students participated in the answers. Of the five questions asked, one of the two students answered three questions. After answering the three questions the student (an overweight female) would take a drink of diet coke. I find this behavior interesting. The other 2 questions were answered by a male (an overweight male) that took drinks of mountain dew after answering the two questions. No other students that I noticed had drinks with them during lecture.

Dude, what planet are you from?

 

[jonathon]

Why does it matter?

 

[bananaface]

Dude, what planet are you from?

I'm betting on earth.

 

[THP]

Why does it matter?

What is so interesting about people who have drinks answering questions?

 

[Law2Doc]

I'm betting on earth.

No way -- if studying human soda drinking behavior this closely, he must totally be doing research for aliens. Perhaps a recon mission before they try to establish an alien soft drink foothold here. Once they get to that point the country is sure to fall. And because we will all be obese, we will fall hard. 😱

 

[StevenRF]

Im one of those guys that can bust out a 2L a day of soda and not get fat. Then again I seem to naturally eat less when I drink a lot of soda, maybe just one or 1 1/2 meals. Have been drinking crazy amounts of soda since middle school. On the other hand, everyone else in my family is severely overweight and they drink diet soda... go figure.

About what that poster said on the psychology of it. I definitely notice that there is a strong influence on that. There's a lot of times Ill just grab a coke and sip from it even though I dont feel thirsty and Ill never finish it.

Damn though, it just tastes so good...an ice cold frosty coca cola 😍

 

[Vox Animo]

off topic, but still:

88% of corn grown in this country is used to make high fructose corn syrup, the leading cause of childhood obesity.

 

[jawicobike]

😕 Does the war in Irac cause obesity? 😕

I've been putting on weight ever since it started (except for the few months of EBV excellent weight loss).




I honestly can't believe this thread exists on SDN. I'm pretty sure this was discussed in 8th grade health class. 😴

 

[StevenRF]

off topic, but still:

88% of corn grown in this country is used to make high fructose corn syrup, the leading cause of childhood obesity.

Remember back in the day when they used cane sugar? That's like 1980's.

So if all the sugar in the coke is corn syrup, does that mean cokes count as part of the vegetable group?

 

[SirTony76]

Just out of curiosity, does anybody know anything about Gatorade? I quit drinking soda/pop/coke when I went to college but now I drink quite a bit of Gatorade.

 

[2Bsure]

While I don't claim any original insight in this matter, I'm currently taking course in health economics that has provided some objective data, as several of the lectures have dealt directly with identifying the correlates of obesity.

Over the past thirty-five years, meal and snack portions have constituted the biggest changes in diets. The average number of calories consumed during breakfasts and lunches has remained fairly constant. Moreover, the average number of calories consumed during dinners has actually fallen. Assuming they are eaten as meals, these facts would seem to eliminate large-portion meals as the culprits of obesity.

In contrast, there has been a 260% increase in the number of snack calories people consume. A potential explanation for this phenomenon is that, in real terms, the price of highly processed food has fallen substantially, and snacks are usually highly processed. Additionally, if one compares demographics, those groups who have had the largest increases in processed food consumption have experienced the greatest increases in obesity rates. I'm uncertain of the exact numbers, but I suspect soft drinks make up a good deal of the additional snack calories.

Personally, I can't stand regular soda. Whenever I drink the stuff, I find that I am usually thirstier afterwards. Even if I am drinking juice, I typically prefer to water it down. Exerts too much osmotic pressure perhaps?

P.S. In defense of corn syrup—because fructose is sweeter than glucose, a bottler can use less sugar when mixing syrup and soda water.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I would like to know what people think about this issue. I have my own thoughts but want to get other views besides the literature.

I cut down sodas & desserts and went from 215 to 160 between 2000 and 2005.

I had about 2-3 sodas a day, and 1-2 desserts a day when I topped off at 215.

I cut myself down to 1 dessert a week and no sodas at all.

(I did not change any other dietary or exercise habits.)

 

[2Bsure]

off topic, but still:

88% of corn grown in this country is used to make high fructose corn syrup, the leading cause of childhood obesity.

I'm pretty sure most of the corn grown in this country is not even used for human consumption. It typically goes into animal feeds.

 

[Mempho1983]

Technically speaking, it is of course difficult to say X causes Y, but high sugar sodas do make it very easy for people to consume an excess of calories. This is just simple physiology, if you take in a ton of sugar, you will break some down for energy and store some,typically as glycogen and then when these stores are filled you store it as fat. Thus, a lot of sugar (or any of the food molecules for that matter) can be stored as fat, which equals people who have a lot of fat stored.

There are tons of people, especially kids sitting in front of the TV all day, who drink at least 6 sodas per day. At 150-200 cals a pop, this is anywhere from 1/2 to 1/3 of their recommended dietary intake that is easily consumed in liquid form. These sodas are also not filling, thus resulting in the intake of "empty" calories.

Think about if you were on an island with only water to drink and the only food you could eat you had to prepare. By prepare, I mean not with a microwave or adding milk, but rather you really had to put forth some effort to make a meal. If things were like this in the US, do you think we would have a so-called obesity problem? I doubt it, because we're too lazy to fix food like that but as long as people can conveniently eat their high-calorie fast food and TV dinners along with a 64 oz. soda in hand, self-induced obesity and its associated conditions will continue to be a problem here.

 

[LabMonster]

and billions of dollars could be saved if people would just adhere to this simple formula.

And because they won't, we will have job security.

 

[LabMonster]

Just out of curiosity, does anybody know anything about Gatorade? I quit drinking soda/pop/coke when I went to college but now I drink quite a bit of Gatorade.

Check the ingredients - yep high fructose corn syrup (pretty sure.) At any rate, if you're going to drink Gatorade (while not running a marathon) dilute it 1:2 or 1:3. Makes them go farther and cuts the calories + you stay hydrated.

 

[scpod]

Over the past thirty-five years, meal and snack portions have constituted the biggest changes in diets. The average number of calories consumed during breakfasts and lunches has remained fairly constant. Moreover, the average number of calories consumed during dinners has actually fallen. Assuming they are eaten as meals, these facts would seem to eliminate large-portion meals as the culprits of obesity.

30 years ago, there were 3 channels on the average TV, so you didn't spend a lot of time watching it (if you even had one). There were no remote controls, either. To change the channel you had to get up. There were no video games. Children played outside from dawn to dusk, except when they came inside to eat a non-microwaved meal. Playing games meant football or basketball-- something active-- not something you can sit in a chair and do. There were no snacks in the house, and only 3 meals a day. There were very few snack foods on the market. I was amazed the day that barbecued flavor potato chips first came out, but it was two years before I actually got to try one. If you missed a meal, you went hungry. There was no fast food; only in bigger cities did you have a McDonald's. We actually drove 90 miles one time to try a pizza restaurant. There was one in North Carolina and one in South Carolina. We drove to Charlotte. People didn't eat out, only on rare occassions. Every household didn't even have a car. People walked to a lot of their destinations. There was no need for a gym because people got plenty of excercise in their everyday activities. Quite simply, people expended a lot more calories 30 years ago than they took in.

 

[Beau Geste]

30 years ago, there were 3 channels on the average TV, so you didn't spend a lot of time watching it (if you even had one). There were no remote controls, either. To change the channel you had to get up. There were no video games. Children played outside from dawn to dusk, except when they came inside to eat a non-microwaved meal. Playing games meant football or basketball-- something active-- not something you can sit in a chair and do. There were no snacks in the house, and only 3 meals a day. There were very few snack foods on the market. I was amazed the day that barbecued flavor potato chips first came out, but it was two years before I actually got to try one. If you missed a meal, you went hungry. There was no fast food; only in bigger cities did you have a McDonald's. We actually drove 90 miles one time to try a pizza restaurant. There was one in North Carolina and one in South Carolina. We drove to Charlotte. People didn't eat out, only on rare occassions. Every household didn't even have a car. People walked to a lot of their destinations. There was no need for a gym because people got plenty of excercise in their everyday activities. Quite simply, people expended a lot more calories 30 years ago than they took in.

Hear, hear! Even 20 years ago when I was 10 we were locked out of the house in the summer (figuratively speaking) to play outside. My friends and I were all involved on swim teams, softball/baseball, and had our outside chores as well as nieghborhood friends with whom we played tag, caught lightning bugs, and explored everything with.

I lived in a small town of about 8000, and I live in another small town of about 6000. I don't see many younger kids out riding their bikes or playing tag, catch, or hide-n-seek. I DO hear about video games and TV a LOT, and see the TV as a babysitter with kids everyday.

It's unfortunate, but it's not the TV or video games or even the food that's at fault. Parents should take responsibility for what they allow their kids to watch, do, and eat. Sure, they may do it at their friend's house from time to time, but they spend the majority of their life WITH THEIR PARENTS, who need to learn to say "NO!".

/rant 🙂

 

[THP]

Hear, hear! Even 20 years ago when I was 10 we were locked out of the house in the summer (figuratively speaking) to play outside. My friends and I were all involved on swim teams, softball/baseball, and had our outside chores as well as nieghborhood friends with whom we played tag, caught lightning bugs, and explored everything with.

I lived in a small town of about 8000, and I live in another small town of about 6000. I don't see many younger kids out riding their bikes or playing tag, catch, or hide-n-seek. I DO hear about video games and TV a LOT, and see the TV as a babysitter with kids everyday.

It's unfortunate, but it's not the TV or video games or even the food that's at fault. Parents should take responsibility for what they allow their kids to watch, do, and eat. Sure, they may do it at their friend's house from time to time, but they spend the majority of their life WITH THEIR PARENTS, who need to learn to say "NO!".

/rant 🙂

I agree with you but big part of the problem is mothers these days are so afraid that something might happen to little johnny that they don't let them do anything. My children are still too little to go out and do things, as they are just now learning to walk. But my wife is so afraid they are going to be kidnapped its amazing. She doesn't even like the idea of sending the kids to pick out a list of grocery items from the shelf while we are at the grocery store. She thinks they are going to be kidnapped. I know my wife is not alone in this mentality. I don't know where all the paranoia has come from.

 

[Beau Geste]

I agree with you but big part of the problem is mothers these days are so afraid that something might happen to little johnny that they don't let them do anything. My children are still too little to go out and do things, as they are just now learning to walk. But my wife is so afraid they are going to be kidnapped its amazing. She doesn't even like the idea of sending the kids to pick out a list of grocery items from the shelf while we are at the grocery store. She thinks they are going to be kidnapped. I know my wife is not alone in this mentality. I don't know where all the paranoia has come from.

I dunno -

The media has gotten very good at hype, maybe that's it. Or maybe she just loves him a lot 🙂!

But still - I see what you mean. As a kid, we wandered all over our town, we all did!

 

[McDoctor]

In one of my lectures today, there were two students who had sodas with them during class. Therefore, I was analyzing their behaviors during lecture (the lecture was boring and didn't learn anything new) and I was not surprised by their behavior. Here is what took place. The professor asked five questions during lecture where the two students participated in the answers. Of the five questions asked, one of the two students answered three questions. After answering the three questions the student (an overweight female) would take a drink of diet coke. I find this behavior interesting. The other 2 questions were answered by a male (an overweight male) that took drinks of mountain dew after answering the two questions. No other students that I noticed had drinks with them during lecture.

I, too, find these humans fascinating with their primitive carbonated beverages...

 

[McDoctor]

I agree with you but big part of the problem is mothers these days are so afraid that something might happen to little johnny that they don't let them do anything. My children are still too little to go out and do things, as they are just now learning to walk. But my wife is so afraid they are going to be kidnapped its amazing. She doesn't even like the idea of sending the kids to pick out a list of grocery items from the shelf while we are at the grocery store. She thinks they are going to be kidnapped. I know my wife is not alone in this mentality. I don't know where all the paranoia has come from.

Theres a great book that focuses on this.
The Culture of Fear by Barry Glassner.
It points out statistics like how the incidence of violent crime has actually dropped dramatically since the early 1990's, yet the media coverage of violent crime increased something-like a hundredfold.
That's interesting to speculate that such fear is so pervasive, that it impacts childhood obesity. You should check out that book, it was written before 9/11/01 but is actually probably more relevant now, because I think the climate described in the book has gotten worse rather than better since then.

 

[docjolly]

i over the past 5-7 months, I've dropped close to 20 lbs, and I know that I couldn't have done this if I had not eliminated soda (and all other juices, save orange juice) from my diet, completely (in addition to increasing my workouts at the gym 🙂 ). Prior to making the change, I drank Coca Cola incessantly. I had a serious soda problem. However, fear of hypertension, diabetes, cancer and all these other diet-related disease caused me to re-evaluate my eating habits. I knew that soda (and the juices) had to go.

IMHO, soda in and of itself does not inherently cause obesity. However,b/c it has no nutritional value, it can quite easily aid in the development of obesity.

Thinking about my students when I taught in NYC, I really think that one of the worst things that the Dept. of Education did was allow soda companies to have their vending machines in the school cafeterias..