Have you noticed what's new at the supermarket?
Supermarket carts sporting colorful new beverage holders have joined many other forms of advertising that encourage increased consumption of beverages. While taking my first
beverage holder-enhanced cart for a stroll down the aisles, I started to think about the impact beverage consumption has had on the rise of obesity in this country.
The fact that obesity is on the rise cannot be denied.
According to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data on the food intakes of nearly 10,000 children nationwide, today.s U.S. kids are eating more food and more calories than kids did 20 years ago. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease and can cause social and psychological problems. In the past 20 years, obesity rates in teenage boys leaped from 5% to 12%, and in teenage girls from 7% to 11%.
Adults are not immune to the trend.Their rate of obesity jumped from 25% to 35%.
Obesity rates have increased in conjunction with soft drink consumption. A graph that appeared in The National Soft Drink Association publication Beverage World showed that in 1942, production of carbonated soft drinks was about 60 12-ounce servings per person per year. By 1998, that amount increased to 576 12-ounce servings per person per year (approximately two 12-ounce cans per day for every man, woman, and child).
Based on USDA surveys, one fifth of one- and two-year old children now consume soft drinks, with toddlers drinking an average of seven ounces per day. The observation that obesity has increased in conjunction with soft drink consumption does not prove that soft drinks cause obesity. However, it does show that in today's world, soft drinks contribute more calories to the
daily diet.
Aside from advertising, one reason for increased consumption of soft drinks is the steady increase in container size. If you were around in the 1950.s, you'll remember the 6-1/2-ounce bottle of cola. The 12-ounce bottle soon replaced it. Over the last few years, the 20-ounce bottle emerged. I noticed recently that these are keeping company with the even bigger 24-ounce bottles in the coolers at the end of checkout lanes.
It's easy to determine the amount of beverage you consume if you drink from a labeled bottle. But if you buy a 2-liter container, and then pour a serving into a glass, it's not quite so easy to determine the amount. A Northeast Cooperative Regional Research Project that included participants from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Delaware and Rhode Island studied subjects. ability to estimate portion sizes. In this study, the ability of college students,
and particularly nutrition majors, to estimate the portion sizes of beverages was tested. The following findings reveal college students have difficulty in underestimating and overestimating beverages:
- 20% of the students overestimated the contents of the larger glasses (10- and 12-ounce)
by three ounces or more.
- 45% of the students underestimated the amount of the beverage in a 10-ounce glass by
at least one ounce.
- 33% of the students underestimated the amount of the beverage in a 12-ounce glass by
at least one ounce.
Some people in the study underestimated and overestimated actual size by fairly large amounts. Theimpact of such errors on caloric intake could be significant.
Based on this study, if you pour your own, it might be wise to take out a measuring cup to find out exactly how much liquid your favorite glass holds.
beverage holder-enhanced cart for a stroll down the aisles, I started to think about the impact beverage consumption has had on the rise of obesity in this country.
The fact that obesity is on the rise cannot be denied.
According to the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data on the food intakes of nearly 10,000 children nationwide, today.s U.S. kids are eating more food and more calories than kids did 20 years ago. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease and can cause social and psychological problems. In the past 20 years, obesity rates in teenage boys leaped from 5% to 12%, and in teenage girls from 7% to 11%.
Adults are not immune to the trend.Their rate of obesity jumped from 25% to 35%.
Obesity rates have increased in conjunction with soft drink consumption. A graph that appeared in The National Soft Drink Association publication Beverage World showed that in 1942, production of carbonated soft drinks was about 60 12-ounce servings per person per year. By 1998, that amount increased to 576 12-ounce servings per person per year (approximately two 12-ounce cans per day for every man, woman, and child).
daily diet.
Aside from advertising, one reason for increased consumption of soft drinks is the steady increase in container size. If you were around in the 1950.s, you'll remember the 6-1/2-ounce bottle of cola. The 12-ounce bottle soon replaced it. Over the last few years, the 20-ounce bottle emerged. I noticed recently that these are keeping company with the even bigger 24-ounce bottles in the coolers at the end of checkout lanes.
It's easy to determine the amount of beverage you consume if you drink from a labeled bottle. But if you buy a 2-liter container, and then pour a serving into a glass, it's not quite so easy to determine the amount. A Northeast Cooperative Regional Research Project that included participants from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Delaware and Rhode Island studied subjects. ability to estimate portion sizes. In this study, the ability of college students,
and particularly nutrition majors, to estimate the portion sizes of beverages was tested. The following findings reveal college students have difficulty in underestimating and overestimating beverages:
by three ounces or more.
at least one ounce.
at least one ounce.
Some people in the study underestimated and overestimated actual size by fairly large amounts. Theimpact of such errors on caloric intake could be significant.
Based on this study, if you pour your own, it might be wise to take out a measuring cup to find out exactly how much liquid your favorite glass holds.