Soft Drinks May Raise Fracture Risk in
Teen Girls
Date: June 14, 2000 at 10:33 pm PST
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenage girls who drink lots of soda
may be more prone to bone fractures and osteoporosis than girls
who do not drink large quantities of soft drinks, a new study
reports.
The study, which found an association between soft drink consumption
and bone fracture, suggests that soda is replacing milk in the
diets of teenage girls and robbing them of the bone-building mineral
calcium during a critical period of bone formation.
According to Dr. Neville H. Golden of Schneider Children's Hospital
of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York,
between 40% to 60% of peak bone mass is built during the teenage
years.
``Adolescence is therefore a crucial time for bone development,
and any factors adversely impacting on bone acquisition during
adolescence can potentially have long-standing detrimental effects,''
Golden writes in an editorial accompanying the report.
The investigators found that cola may be particularly detrimental
to adolescent girls, possibly due to large amounts of the mineral
phosphorus that is found in colas. Previous studies have shown
that phosphorus can interfere with the skeleton's ability to absorb
calcium.
This effect, coupled with a decline in milk consumption, can have
a lasting health impact on girls.
``Teens have doubled or tripled their consumption of soft drinks
and they have cut their consumption of milk by more than 40%,''
study author Dr. Grace Wyshak of Harvard Medical School in Boston,
Massachusetts, writes.
In addition to milk and other dairy products such as yogurt and
cheese, rich sources of calcium include dark green vegetables,
dried beans and fortified juices and cereals, according to the
American Dietetic Association. Weight-bearing exercise, such as
jogging or walking, can also help to strengthen bones.
To investigate the effects of soft drink consumption on bone fractures,
Wyshak gave a questionnaire to 460 girls in 9th and 10th grades
that asked them about their diet and exercise habits, and history
of fractures.
The study results, which lend support to a growing body of research
linking soft drinks with risk of bone fractures and osteoporosis,
show that girls who drank soft drinks were more than three times
more likely to sustain a bone fracture. Physically active girls
who drank cola were nearly five times more likely to have had
a bone fracture, the study revealed.
According to Golden, osteoporosis and fractures related to the
disorder cost about $13.8 billion a year and affect 25 million
to 30 million American adults.
Golden concludes that ``osteoporosis should no longer be considered
only a geriatric disease but rather a pediatric disease with geriatric
consequences.''
SOURCE: Wyshak, G. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
2000;154:542-543,
Based on other research the issue of drinking milk may be
less an issue than this article discusses. Due to the fact
that a significant portion of the population exhibits some tendencies
to be lactose intolerant, calcium absorption from milk drinking
may be less than the authors suggest. Cheeses, yogurts, and
dark leafy vegetables and a balanced diet are excellent sources
of dietary calcium. -DFB