Drinking Soft Drinks and Obesity

Does drinking too many non-diet soft drinks or fruit drinks cause obesity? Can you find any research to support or refute the link between sugary drinks and obesity?

The link between soft drinks and obesity is a subject that has been widely debated in the scientific community for several decades. However, it has only been recently that long term studies have emerged to establish a positive correlation between the effects of non diet soft drinks on obesity rates. This essay will attempt to explain why this positive correlation exists by examining both the long term and short term effects of non-diet soft drinks on the human body. It will accomplish this task by examining the adverse effects caused by an excess of energy in the human body, as well as by taking a look at the effects of a high sugar diet on the cardiovascular system. It will also attempt to discern to what degree the correlation between obesity is dependent on the intake of soft drinks and to what extent other environmental factors are involved. This will be completed through the separation of the sedentary lifestyle characteristics of smoking, fast food and physical inactivity from the intake of non-diet soft drinks.

Obesity is an epidemic that currently affects more than four hundred million people worldwide. It is a growing trend that is expected reach 2.7 billion by the year 2015. In the United States the number of obese and overweight males has climbed 19 percent since the 1970’s, from 47 to 66 percent of the population. A similar increase in adult females has also been observed from 15 to 33 percent. In the third world obesity rates are projected to skyrocket as these countries progressively become more urbanized. In sub Sahara Africa obesity rates are projected to climb 80 percent by the year 2025. With obesity rates clearly rising within urbanized populations across the globe, it has become important to identify the dietary factors within cities that contribute to obesity. Although there...