File Under Duh!

From The New York Times:

Debate remains over the role of sweetened drinks like soda in the growing obesity problem among children. But a study released yesterday suggests that they could be an important factor.

Writing in Pediatrics, researchers reported on what happened when they asked a group of teenagers to stop drinking sweetened beverages for 25 weeks — and had nonsweetened drinks delivered to the teenagers' homes to encourage them to stick to their commitment.

The researchers, led by Cara B. Ebbeling of Children's Hospital Boston, found that the teenagers' consumption of the high-calorie drinks went down by about 80 percent during the study and that the teenagers who had been the most overweight had significant reductions in their body mass indexes at the end of the 25 weeks.

Posted on The Human Stain