- Preliminary data suggest that soda and sweet drinks are
the main source of calories in American diet.
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- Tufts researchers recently reported that while the leading
source of calories in the average American diet used to be from white bread,
that may have changed. Now, according to preliminary research conducted
by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on
Aging at Tufts University, Americans are drinking these calories instead.
The research was presented in abstract form at the Experimental Biology
Conference in April of this year and a more comprehensive paper is being
developed.
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- Odilia Bermudez, PhD, MPH, studied the reported diets
of a large nationwide sample of American adults. Among respondents to the
1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), more
than two thirds reported drinking enough soda and/or sweet drinks to provide
them with a greater proportion of daily calories than any other food. In
addition, obesity rates were higher among these sweet drink consumers.
Consumers of 100% orange juice and low fat milk, on the other hand, tended
to be less overweight, on average.
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- Bermudez, who is also an assistant professor at Tufts
University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, is hopeful
that, "by helping to identify the main sources of excess energy in
the American diet, this work may contribute to the development of much-needed
strategies to combat obesity in the American public."
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- "These results are startling," she continued,
"and indicate that we need a much better understanding of how the
American diet has changed. Our paper will look more closely at the issue
of sweet drink consumption and its relation to obesity factors among three
of the main ethnic groups included in the national surveys: African Americans,
Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites."
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- _____
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- Experimental Biology 2005, San Diego. Abstract # 839.5
Bermudez, O., "Consumption of sweet drinks among American adults from
the NHANES 1999-2000."
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- http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-05/tu-pds052605.php
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