TABLE 1.
Cross-sectional studies1
| Reference | Population | Baseline age or age range | Weight measure | Beverage category | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y | |||||
| Anderson et al (22) | 3139 Children (1609 girls, 1530 boys); Norway | 8–14 | BMI (median): girls (grade 8, 1993), 18.9 (18.6)2: girls (grade 8, 2000), 19.1 (18.6); girls (grade 4, 2000), 17.1 (16.7); boys (grade 8, 1993), 19.1(18.7); boys (grade 8, 2000), 19.0 (18.4); boys (grade 4, 2000), 17.1 (16.7) | Sweetened soft drinks | No significant association between sweetened soft drinks and overweight (P > 1.0) (data not shown) |
| Ariza et al (23) | 250 Children (123 girls, 127 boys); Hispanic American | 5–6 | 23% of Children were overweight (≥ 95th percentile of weight-for-height) | Sweetened beverages, milk, juice | Overweight children more likely than nonoverweight children to consume sweetened beverages daily (67% vs 39%; P = 0.03); daily consumption associated with overweight compared with less-than-daily consumption (OR: 3.7; 95% CI: 1.2, 11.0). |
| Bandini et al (24) | 43 Adolescents (23 female, 20 male); Boston | 12–18 | Percentage body fat: nonobese, 21.1 ± 7.63 (n = 22); obese, 43.1 ± 7.2 (n = 21) | Soda | No difference in percentage of energy from soda between obese (5.9 ± 4.9%) and nonobese (6.0 ± 4.9%) subjects |
| Berkey et al (25) | 16 679 Children (8941 girls, 7738 boys); Growing Up Today study | 9–14 | BMI: girls aged 9 y, 17.47 ± 2.84; girls aged 14 y, 20.52 ± 3.09; boys aged 9 y, 17.77 ± 2.90; boys aged 14 y, 20.82 3.224 | Sugar-sweetened drinks, fruit juice, diet soda, milk | Girls who drank more sugar-added beverages were heavier (BMI rose 0.06 per serving; P = 0.04); data for boys not shown |
| Forshee et al (26) | 2216 Adolescents (48.5% female, 51.1% male); NHANES III | 12–16 | Mean BMI: females, 21.9; males, 21.5 | Fruit drinks, diet fruit drinks, soda, diet soda, coffee, tea, wine, beer, spirits | Positive nonsignificant association between soda and inverse nonsignificant association between fruit drinks and BMI via 24-h recall |
| Forshee and Storey (27) | 3311 Children and adolescents (1624 female, 1687 male); CSFII | 6–19 | Not given | Milk, soda, diet soda, fruit drinks, diet fruit drinks, citrus juice, other juice | Positive nonsignificant association between soda and BMI; inverse nonsignificant association between fruit drinks and BMI |
| French et al (28) | 3552 Adults (1913 female, 1639 male); Healthy Worker Project, USA | Females, 37.3 ± 10.7; males, 39.1 ± 9.8 | BMI: females, 25.1 ± 5.5; males, 26.6 ± 3.9 | Soda | Significant (P = 0.03) association between soda consumption and weight in females: β = 0.47, SE = 0.22; a weaker association in males: β = 0.33, SE = 0.21 (P = 0.13)5 |
| Giammattei et al (29) | 385 Children (199 girls, 186 boys); California | 11–13 | BMI z score: girls, 0.53 ± 1.0; boys, 0.63 ± 1.05 | Soda, diet soda | Those who consumed ≥ 3 soft drinks (soda and diet soda)/d had BMI z scores 0.51 higher (95% CI: 0.17, 0.85, P = 0.003), had 4.4% more body fat, and were more likely to have BMIs ≥ 85th percentile than did those who consumed < 3 soft drinks/d (58.1% vs 33.2%; P = 0.006) |
| Gibson (29) | 1586 Children; National Diet and Nutrition Survey, UK | 1.5–4.5 | Difficult to discern from figure | Soft drinks | No significant association between BMI and the proportion of soft drinks in the diet (data not shown) |
| Gillis and Bar-Or (31) | 181 Children and adolescents (106 female, 75 male) | 4–16 | BMI: obese, 29 ± 5.0 (n = 91); nonobese, 17 ± 1.5 (n = 90) | Soda, sugar-sweetened beverages | Obese subjects consumed more sugar-sweetened drinks (P < 0.002) and a combination of sugar- sweetened drinks and soda (P < 0.05; P < 0.002 for boys alone) than did nonobese subjects; no significant difference between groups in soda consumption |
| Liebman et al (32) | 1817 Adults (889 female, 928 male); Wellness in the Rockies Study | 18–99 | BMI: females aged < 50 y, 27.3 ± 6.7; females aged > 50 y, 27.2 ± 5.7; males aged < 50 y, 27.5 ± 4.9; males aged >50 y, 27.3 ± 4.8 | Sugar-sweetened beverages, soda, diet soda | Probability of overweight greater in subjects who drank ≥ 1 soda/wk than in those who drank < 1 soda/wk (70% vs 47% in females aged ≥ 50 y; 77% vs 58% in males aged ≥ 50 y: P < 0.05) Probability of obesity greater in subjects who drank ≥ 1 soda/wk than in those who drank < 1 soda/wk (32% vs 18% in females aged ≥ 50 y: 33% vs 18% in females aged < 50 y; 26% vs 17% in males aged ≥ 50 y; P < 0.05) |
| Nicklas et al (33) | 1562 Children (51% girls, 49% boys); Bogalusa Heart Study | 10 | 24% overweight, 76% normal-weight | Sweetened beverages, juice, milk | Consumption of sweetened beverages (58% soda, 20% fruit drinks, 19% tea, and 3% coffee) was significantly (P < 0.001) associated with overweight (OR: 1.33; 95% CI: 1.12, 1.57, after adjustment for energy, age, study year, ethnicity, sex, and sex × ethnicity interaction) |
| Overby et al (34) | 2206 Children (810 grade 4, 1005 grade 8, and 391 aged 4 y) | 4–13 | BMI (x̄ ± SD) for Q1 and Q4 of percentage of energy consumed from added sugar: girls aged 4 y, 15.7 ± 1.5 (Q1) and 16.1 ± 1.7 (Q4), P = 0.341; grade 4 girls, 17.4 ± 2.8 (Q1) and 16.8 ± 3 (Q4), P 0.236; grade 8 girls, 19.4 ± 3.1 (Q1) and 18.5 ± 2.2 (Q4), P = 0.013; boys aged 4 y, 15.7 ± 1.3 (Q1) and 16.3 ± 1.4 (Q4), P = 0.055; grade 4 boys, 16.8 ± 2.5 (Q1) and 17.2 ± 2.8 (Q4), P = 0.312; grade 8 boys, 18.9 ± 2.3 (Q1) and 18.9 ± 2.7 (Q4), P = 0.816 | Soft drinks, lemonade | Negative association between added sugar and BMI in grade 8 girls (P = 0.013) and a positive association in 4-y-old boys (P = 0.055); soft drinks contributed an average of 40% of added sugar |
| Rodriguez-Artalejo et al (35) | 1112 Children (555 girls, 557 boys); Spain | 6–7 | BMI 17.0 ± 2.4 | Sweetened soft drinks, bakery items, yogurt | No significant association between sweetened soft drink intake and BMI; difference in BMI between 5th and 1st quartiles of soda intake, 0.4 (P > 0.01)6 |
| Troiano et al (21) | 10 371 Children; NHANES III and earlier surveys | 2–19 | Not given | Soft drinks | Soft drinks contributed higher proportion of energy in overweight than in nonoverweight subjects (aged 2–5 y, 3.1% vs 2.4%; aged 6–11 y, 5.4% vs 4%; males aged 12–19 y, 10.3% vs 7.6%; females aged 12–19 y, 8.6% vs 7.9%; P not given) |
1
BMI measured as kg/m2. OR, odds ratio; Q, quartile.
2
Median; 95th percentile cutoff in parentheses (all such values).
3
x̄ ± SD (all such values).
4
BMI values based on baseline data presented by Berkey et al (98).
5
β represents the difference in weight between women who reported consuming 1 serving (ie, one 12-oz can) of soda per week and those who reported no soda consumption.
6
Because of the large number of statistical tests performed, statistical significance was set at P < 0.01.