More and more people choose sugary drinks over water. This unhealthy habit seems to be more prevalent in children, which is a critical issue. Studies performed on children of different ages show that as many as one in five kids don’t drink water on a regular basis.
Health Issues Caused By Not Drinking Water
Sodas and other sugary drinks are making their way into children’s diets. These children end up taking in more calories than they actually need, which may be one of the leading causes of child obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Those kids that admitted they only drink sugary drinks are in taking on average 100 more calories per day. It may not seem significant, but in the long run, it can make a huge difference.
Even though reports show people reduced the amount of sugary soda they drink over time, and childhood obesity rates haven’t grown, 20% percent of children aged 12 to 19 are still extremely overweight.
Contaminated Water Still Affects Part Of Populations
It seems that disadvantaged groups, like those living in poverty, are the most exposed to risk factors that lead to obesity. These communities also face difficult situations, like contaminated water supplies in the US (Flint, Michigan). In these situations, people will always choose not to drink water, even though they are aware of the consequences, and will also prefer to offer children sugary drinks, as they trust these more than water.
Improving water supply quality should be the main priority, as it endangers public health and forces citizens to make drastic changes in their lives that can compromise their future.
In short, recent research concluded that more and more children don’t drink water, but they do drink sugary beverages. And that’s the leading cause of pediatric obesity and type 2 diabetes. Most of these kids live in developed countries and adopt unhealthy diets, as well.
