Study shows that those preschoolers who are drinking more of the sugary drinks that are marketed at the departmental stores are likely to be obese by the age of five. Preschool children are often given sugary drinks to have when at home or at school. However parents and teachers need to look into such drinking habits as it can expose them to obesity at a very early stage in their lives.
Such kids are also vulnerable to putting on more pounds than other kids of an older age group. Researchers followed two to five year old’s and found that, those who were having sweetened drinks on a regular basis were likely to develop obesity than their peers who did not drink such sweetened drinks. Thus, a two year old who downed at least one sugary drink in the day gained more pounds over the next few years as compared to the peers. The results of this study have been published online as well as in the journal Pediatrics. Here evidence is gathered linking the excessive sugary drinks adding on excess pounds in kids at a later stage in their lives. The experts state that parents need to resort to milk and water to offer to preschoolers instead of sweetened or flavored drink.
Healthier Alternatives To Prevent Obesity.
However the experts also agree that it cannot be said for sure that the cutting down of sugary drinks will put a stop to the possibility of obesity. However there are healthier sources of calories than sweetened drinks and these need to be taken up for nutritional benefits as well. Kids need to be drawn more towards water than sweetened drinks in order to hydrate themselves. Milk also needs to be a part of the diet of preschoolers as it is an important source of vitamin D, calcium and protein. The fat and the protein in the milk helps children to feel full and they will tend to eat less. That will not have hunger pangs as soon as they do when they consume sugary or sweetened drinks.
One of the important contributors to obesity is sweetened beverages. As these drinks are tasty, well advertised and cheap, people resort to stocking these up in order to provide calorie rich drinks to their kids. As per the study, if the sugary drinks are cut down, as much as 235 calories is cut down from the diet of such kids who can then resort to natural fruit juices, water or milk. The amount of calories that are usually contained in a sugary drink is tantamount to the amount of calories lost when walking for an hour. In the study that was conducted, about fifteen percent of the children were found to be overweight at their age and some were in the obesity category. At the age of five children who consume one sugary drink per day will have 43 percent chances of being obese as they grow up.
