Study: Consumption of Sugary Beverages Affects Kids’ Cholesterol Levels

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Consumption of sugary beverages can affect cholesterol levels in children, according to a new study, Time Magazine reports.

Among Latino children the consumption of soda and other sugary beverages is above average.

The study led by Maria Van Rompay from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, “decided to focus on children 8-15-specifically the effect soda had on their cholesterol.”

The team of researchers analyzed data from a large study involving 700 children who answered questions about what they ate; and collected blood sample at the beginning and a year after.

The team found children “consuming more sugared drinks had higher levels of triglycerides, which are linked to a higher risk of heart disease.”  But children, reducing their intake of sugared drinks by one serving “showed higher levels of HDL, the good cholesterol that can protect against heart problems.”

“Dietary intake is one of the modifiable factors that can be targeted in helping to prevent disease,” Van Rompay says. “So educating children about sugar-sweetened beverages and changing the amount they drink is something that feels manageable and can be done to improve the health status of our children.”