New Studies Shows Link Between Youth Violence and Consumption of Soft Drinks

A recent article published in Injury Prevention has shown a link between the sugar and caffeine levels in soft drinks and youth violence.

While not a surprise to nutrition experts, or public health advocates, a possible link has been found between aggressive behavior in children and the consumption of carbonated beverages, and according to David Hemenway, MD, professor of public health, and director of the Injury Control Center at the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts (who over-saw the research) "This is the first study to suggest such an association."

The research, which controlled for sex, age, race, body mass index, typical sleep patterns, tobacco use, alcohol use, and having family dinners, found that high consumption of carbonated, non diet soft drinks showed a positive association with an 9% to 15% greater likelihood of engaging in aggressive behaviors. In fact, heavy soft drink use had about the same effect as tobacco and alcohol on violence.

While the exact amount of sugar and caffeine that can lead to aggression in currently not known, and Dr. Hemenway feels additional research needs to be carried out, the data suggest a possible cause-and-effect relationship between high soft drink consumption and aggression.

The research, carried out by Dr. Hemenway and coauthors, found that teenagers who drank more than five 12-ounce cans of carbonated soft drinks each week were more likely to carry a weapon and commit violence against friends, dates, and siblings. The study also found that the relationship appears to be a dose–response relationship, with the strongest relationships shown for teenagers drinking 14 or more cans per week. Of those adolescents, 42.7% carried a gun or knife, 58.6% were violent toward their peers, 26.9% were violent toward dates, and 45.3% perpetrated violence toward other children in their family.

Heavy soft drink use was also associated with, getting insufficient sleep and using alcohol and tobacco within the past 30 days.

Critics of the research, site the fact that data was collected using self reporting and that correlation does not necessarily lead to causation. Poor children often drink more soft drinks, and the study tended to look at a poorer minority populations of children, and children possibly more prone to violence, a population of children soda companies tend to market to.