Sugary Drinks are Everywhere
Childhood obesity is a nationwide epidemic throughout the United States. While there are many leading factors when it comes to what causes childhood obesity one of the largest causes is from the consumption of sugary drinks. According to the CDC, “80% of youths consume sugar sweetened beverages,” but what they do not mention is what exactly a sugary drink consists of. This poses the question for readers of what is a sugary drink.
For most people when the thought of sugary drinks comes to mind the thought of soda and energy drinks are what constitutes ‘a sugary drink’ however it is actually so much more. According to the National Cancer Center, “sugary drinks consist of fruit drinks, soda, energy drinks, sport drinks and sweetened waters.” The American Heart Association also gives a list of what is included in sugary drinks including sweetened teas to the list as well. In the Advice for Patients section of the Arch Pediatric Medical Journal, they give examples of some of the types of sugar drinks and examples to go with it. For the type of drink classified under fruitades they gave examples such as Gatorade and lemonade, for fruit juices they give examples like Kool-Aid and fruit punch, for soda they give the example of Coke, Pepsi and 7Up, and for energy drinks they give the examples of Monster or Red Bull. The drinks mentioned above are a lot of times considered to be healthy or good for you, and are in many American homes. The problem is that sugary drinks are the largest source of added sugars in a youth’s diet and also the main source of calorie intake. What this means is that when a child drinks a soda they are taking in a lot of calories at one time, often more than a body needs which then is not processed and becomes fat.
The largest problem that Americans are faced with is determining if a drink is considered bad for you. Most Americans do not even think to look at the nutritional label when purchasing beverages, as the companies producing these sugary drinks attach positive health claims to the products to hide the fact that these drinks are packed with sugar. One of the most commonly purchased sports drinks is Gatorade. On the Gatorade label it has the word ‘Performance’ in large print as well as the phrases, “thirst quencher and natural flavors”. Gatorade is also known as an electrolyte sports drink, where it is supposed to replace lost electrolytes, however the proper sodium to potassium ratio for replacing electrolytes is a 1 to 1 ratio and Gatorade consists of 250mg of sodium and 65mg of potassium per 20oz bottle making it so that you are not even able to replenish electrolytes. Kids also see many different famous athletes supporting these products and families are lead to assume that this is a good product for their child. What they don’t know is that Gatorade is packed with 35 grams of sugar in a 20oz bottle. Just think 35 grams of sugar is equal to 8.75 teaspoons of sugar and that’s a lot of sugar in a bottle.
While there are many different types of drinks out there, they can almost always be classified as sugary or not. As a country we need to identify these drinks and start to eliminate them from our children’s diets. In efforts to change our children’s diets we also need to be educating everyone around us in order to prevent the childhood obesity epidemic from getting worse.
Work Cited
Childhood Obesity Causes & Consequences.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 19 June 2015. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.
Go, A. S., D. Mozaffarian, and V. L. Roger. “Sugar-sweetened beverages initiatives can help fight childhood obesity.” circulation 127 (2013): e6-e245.
Harris, Jennifer L., et al. “Evaluating Sugary Drink Nutrition and Marketing to Youth.” New Haven, CT: Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity (2011).
Ogden, Cynthia . Consumption of Sugar Drinks in the US (2005-2008), et al. . US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 2011.
Sugary Drinks and Childhood Obesity. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009;163(4):400. doi:10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.16
Rowan Counterintuitive 
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—DSH
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Soccer, this is troubling. Before I offer feedback, please correct the error you’re making with your citations. We use informal citation in this class. Refer to the Exercise and lecture material I provided to clear up your formatting, then ask again and I’ll respond promptly with a critique of your argument and rhetoric.
https://rowancounterintuitive.com/exercises/e12-good-citation/
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Feedback Provided
—DSH
I believe I have fixed the formatting, I have been accused of plagiarism before for not properly citing when taking this class prior making this incredibly confusing.
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I don’t know what that means. There is no particular standard for citation technique that suits all needs, so different classes will have different requirements. We’re not trying to confuse you, we simply disagree, and can’t understand why the world doesn’t adopt our particular preferences. Certainly I didn’t accuse you of plagiarism. Standards evolve, and they differ from culture to culture (even departments within a university are different cultures!). Don’t despair, Jsoccer! Thank you for your changes. I’ll be back soon with real feedback on your post.
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This is VERY WORDY, jsoccer. As an exercise, I’m going to strike everything that doesn’t need to be said.
Childhood obesity is
a nationwideepidemic throughout the United States.While there are many leading factors when it comes to what causes childhood obesityone of the largest causes isfromthe consumption of sugary drinks. According to the CDC, “80% of youth consume sugar sweetened beverages,” butwhatthey do notmention is what exactly a sugary drink consists of, posing the question for readers ofanswer the question: what is a sugary drink?For most people when the thought of sugary drinks comes to mind the thought of soda and energy drinks are what constitutes as a sugar drink, however it is actually so much more.According to the National Cancer Center, “sugary drinks consist of fruit drinks, soda, energy drinks, sport drinks, and sweetened waters.” The American Heart Associationalso gives a list of what is included in sugary drinks, includingincludes sweetened teasto thein its listas well.InThe Advice for Patients section of the Arch Pediatric Medical Journaltheycitesexamples of some of the types of sugar drinks and examples to go with it. For the type of drink classified underfruitadesthey gave examplessuch as Gatorade and lemonade,forfruit juicesthey give exampleslike Kool-Aid and Fruit Punch,forand of course Sodasthey give the example oflike Coke, Pepsi and 7Up, andforsuch Energy Drinksthey give the examples ofas Monster or Red Bull. Many of the drinks mentioned above area lot of timesconsideredto behealthyor good for you, and are in many American homes.The problem is thatBut sugary drinks are the largest source of added sugars in a youth’s diet and also the main source of caloriesintake.What this means is that when a child drinks a soda they are taking in a lot of calories at one time,often more than a body needs. The unprocessed sugarwhich then is not processed andbecomes fat.The largest problem that Americans face with determining if a drink is considered bad for you before even looking to see the sugar content is due to the fact thatMany sugary drinkshavemake false positive health claimsattachedtohelphide the fact that they are packed with sugar.One of the most common poor drink purchases are sports drinks, such as Gatorade. On theThe Gatorade labelithas the word Performance in large print as well as the phrases, “thirst quencher” and “natural flavors.” Gatorade is alsoknown as an electrolyte sports drink, where it is supposesupposed to replace lost electrolytes; however the proper sodium to potassium ratio for replacing electrolytes is a 1 to 1 ratio,andwhereas Gatorade consists of 250mg of sodium and 65mg of potassium per 20oz bottle,makingwhich makes itso that you are not even able to replenisha poor electrolyte replenisher. Kidsalsoseemany differentfamous athletes supporting these products and families areleadled to assume this is good for their child. What they don’t know is that Gatorade is packed with 35 grams of sugar in a 20oz bottle. Just think 35 grams of sugar is, equal to a whopping 8.75 teaspoons of sugar, and that’s a lot of sugar in a bottle.While there is many different types of
out there, theycanalmostalways be classified as sugary or not. As a country we need toidentify these drinks and start toeliminate them from our children’s diets, while also educatingthechildren andotheradultsaround you in effortto stop the childhood obesity epidemic sweeping our country.LikeLike
This is what’s left:
Childhood obesity is epidemic throughout the United States. One of the largest causes is the consumption of sugary drinks. According to the CDC, “80% of youth consume sugar sweetened beverages,” but they do not answer the question: what is a sugary drink?
According to the National Cancer Center, “sugary drinks consist of fruit drinks, soda, energy drinks, sport drinks, and sweetened waters.” The American Heart Association includes sweetened teas in its list as well. The Advice for Patients section of the Arch Pediatric Medical Journal cites fruitades such as Gatorade and lemonade, fruit juices like Kool-Aid and Fruit Punch, and of course Sodas like Coke, Pepsi and 7Up, and such Energy Drinks as Monster or Red Bull. Many of the drinks mentioned above are considered healthy, and are in many American homes. But sugary drinks are the largest source of added sugars in a youth’s diet and also the main source of calories, often more than a body needs. The unprocessed sugar becomes fat.
Many sugary drinks make false positive health claims to hide the fact that they are packed with sugar. The Gatorade label has the word Performance in large print as well as the phrases, “thirst quencher” and “natural flavors.” Gatorade is also supposed to replace lost electrolytes; however the proper sodium to potassium ratio for replacing electrolytes is a 1 to 1 ratio, whereas Gatorade consists of 250mg of sodium and 65mg of potassium per 20oz bottle, making it a poor electrolyte replenisher. Kids see famous athletes supporting these products and families are led to assume this is good for their child. What they don’t know is that Gatorade is packed with 35 grams of sugar in a 20oz bottle, equal to a whopping 8.75 teaspoons of sugar.
Drinks can always be classified as sugary or not. As a country we need to eliminate them from our children’s diets, while also educating children and adults to stop the childhood obesity epidemic sweeping our country.
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