Californians have an unhealthy thirst for soda

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A report released today said that Californians' thirst for soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages is one of the reasons too many of the state's residents are fat.

The study, by UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, says 24 percent of California adults drink at least one sugary drink every day, according to news stories published by media outlets throughout the state.

Sacramento Bee reporter Anna Tong sought comment about the trend from Judith Stern of the UC Davis Department of Nutrition.

"When you eat food, it makes you full," she was quoted. "When you drink a soda, it doesn't make you feel full, so it's wasted calories."

According to the Fresno Bee, Central Valley residents drink more soda than people living in other parts of the state. In Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties 35 percent of adults drink soda every day. Rural Kings County adults led the state in daily soda consumption at 39 percent.

Imperial County had the highest rate of daily soda-drinking among children (60.7 percent) and Tulare County ranked first for teens (71 percent). The lowest rates of soda consumption for children, teens and adults were in Marin and Mendocino counties.

The study also found that soda drinking is linked to obesity. According to the Los Angeles Times story, 62 percent of adults who drink soda daily are overweight or obese, compared with 52 percent who don’t drink soda at all.

The stories reported that the new study may renew calls for imposing a soda tax. According to the Sacramento Bee article, a one cent per ounce soda tax would generate $1.8 billion per year in California. Currently, six states have soda taxes: Missouri, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

When soda is cut from the diet, UC Berkeley nutrition professor Patricia Crawford suggests parents give their children water to drink, not sports drinks or fruit juice.

“Nearly all fruit juices provide sugar that children don’t need,” Crawford said. “Sports drinks have fewer calories than sodas, but the calories add up. A student who drinks an extra 20-ounce sports drink every day for a year consumes enough calories to gain 13 pounds over the course of the year.”

For more from UC on healthful beverage choices, click here.