There have been numerous reports on the link between sugary drinks and extra weight among teens and adults, but researchers said there may also be a link between sugary drinks and children under five, Reuters reported.
A new study, suggest children under the age of five who drink sugar-sweetened sodas, sports drinks or juice everyday are more likely to be obese than those who consume them less often.
"Even though sugar sweetened beverages are relatively a small percentage of the calories that children take in, that additional amount of calories did contribute to more weight gain over time," said Mark DeBoer, who led the study at the University of Virginia.
The study tested parents of a nationally-representative group of 9,600 children. The children were tested when they were two, four and five years old. All children were born in 2001. Parents reported on their income, education and how often their children consumed sugary drinks and watched television.
Calculated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the children's body mass, weight and height were taken into consideration.
According to Reuters the proportion of children who had at least one soda, sports drink or sugar beverage each day ranged from nine to 13 percent, depending on their age.
The study found children at the age of five, who consumed at least one sugary drink a day were 43 percent more likely to be obese than those who drank less frequently. Also 15 percent of five-year-olds in the study were already obese.
"This is really just adding to the evidence we already know that sugar-sweetened beverages in childhoods is associated with weight gain," said R. Y. Claire Wang, who childhood nutrition and obesity at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. "It's definitely one of the major, if not the main, driver in childhood obesity."
In a statement to Reuters Health, the American Beverage Association trade group wrote:
"Overweight and obesity are caused by imbalance between calories consumed from all foods and beverages (total diet) and calories burned. Therefore, it is misleading to suggest that beverage consumption is uniquely responsible for weight gain among this group or children, especially at a time in their lives when would normally gain weight and grow,"
DoBoer said parents should be aware of what their children consume and provide water and milk as other beverage options.
