A policy brief published by the California Center for Public Healthy Advocacy reveals "an alarming spike" in sugary beverage consumption among 12- to 17-year-olds, reported the Appeal Democrat, a newspaper that serves Sutter and Yuba counties.

"We are in the midst of a youth diabetes epidemic that is perpetuated by all of these sugary drinks," said Harold Goldstein, one of the report's authors and the executive director at the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.

Research cited in the policy brief found that the percent of children under...