U.S. black, poor youth consume more sugar-laden drinks: study

Black children and teens in the United States are almost twice as likely as their white peers to consume more than 500 calories a day of sugary beverages, according to a study that covered tens of thousands of people.

The results, which appeared in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, also found a three-fold surge in the overall number of teens drinking sugar-spiked sports energy drinks.

The study comes of the heels of last year's passage of a landmark New York City ban on restaurant, concession and other venue sales of sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces (473 ml)

"Some groups may be more at risk for soda, others may be more at risk for fruit drinks, all of which ... have the same sugar base that contributes to obesity and disease," said study co-author Lisa Powell, of the University of Illinois at Chicago Health Policy Center.

Black children, the study found, are more than twice as likely as whites on any given day to consume fruit drinks containing little actual fruit. Fruit juices, for example, range from 100 percent actual fruit juice to those with as little as 10 percent fruit juice and plenty of added sugars.

Using surveys from 1999 to 2008 of what roughly 40,000 children, teens and adults drank during a single 24-hour period, the researchers found an increase from 4 percent to 12 percent in the number of teens imbibing sports drinks.

But the study also found that while drinking of at least 500 calories per day of sugar-sweetened beverages - considered "heavy consumption" - fell from 22 percent to 16 percent among teens, and from 29 percent to 20 percent among young adults. However, the rate rose from 4 percent to 5 percent among 2- to 11-year olds.

Except for children, who are more likely to consumer fruit drinks, soda is the most widely consumed sugared beverage across the age span.

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