Sugary Drinks Are Piling on Pounds

Researchers are saying that the reason Americans have gained so much weight over the last four decades is because they drink too much soda. Researchers are not sure what the main cause of obesity in the United States is, but they are certainly “pointing the finger” at sugary drinks. According to studies, one extra soda can a day can pile on 15 pounds in one year. Plus, “about one-third of all carbohydrate calories in the American diet come from added sweeteners, and beverages account for half of this amount”, says the new report. The main sweetener in beverages is high fructose corn syrup. This high fructose corn syrup packs more fructose or “sugar” than actual sugar. Sugary drinks are being removed from schools and sometimes replaced with sugar free diet soda. Also, they are completely removed from places where young children buy them.

During my summer break, while in Atlanta, I drank up to two cans a day. But now during school, I prefer after eating my pizza or occasional hot wings, to go and take a swig from the water fountain. I just realized how sugary those drinks really are. They are like “liquid candy”. To be sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, that contains more fructose than table sugar, that stuff is like, a week’s supply of sugar. I know people at lunch that drink the large soda in the cafeteria every single day. In a year this can add up to 15 pounds. If that continues, by the time they are finished with their four years of Antonio Roosevelt High School, they will put on 60 pounds! Soda is very unhealthy and I will only drink it occasionally such as 1-2 times a week, instead of twice a day.