Drink Aware! New Research shows that soft drinks are NOT linked to weight gain in teenagers

In a five year study – nicknamed ‘Project EAT’, scientists looked at the ways in which drinking soft drinks was linked to the risk of obeity in teenagers. In all, almost 2,300 teenagers took part in the study over the five year period – which saw scientists take an in depth look at their diet and eating habits. As an indicator of obesity, scientists were keen to monitor the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the teenagers – in order to see how the percentage of their body fat was affected by the drinks they consumed.

According to the results, which were recently published on a well-respected nutrition website, it was found that those teenagers who drank little or no milk gained more weight than regular milk-drinkers. But, that aside, there was no conclusive evidence to show that the consumption of soft drinks was related to weight gain in the teenagers being monitored, which would seem to suggest that the age-old adage remains true: a little of what you fancy does you no harm!