New Study Links Teen Violence To Soda Drinking

Sure, we all know that soda can make you gain weight and can cause cavities, but there could be another, more surprising reason for you to steer clear of sugary soft drinks: they might make you more violent.

A study released Monday showed a correlation between soda consumption and levels of violent behavior in teens. Nearly 2,000 teens aged 14 to 18 from inner-city schools in Boston participated in the study, which found that teenagers who consume large amounts of soda are more likely to act violently than teens who stay away from the stuff. In fact, teens who drank more soft drinks were found to be nine to 15 percent more likely to display violent tendencies.

As HuffPost Parents notes, one in four teens drinks soda on a daily basis -- so these results might initially seem pretty alarming. But don't worry: you don't need to ditch your favorite fizzy beverages just yet. If you take a closer look at the study, the findings might be more complicated than they appear.

As HuffPost Parents notes via ABC News, "Many studies have shown that people who consume diets high in junk food like soda and low in more nutritious foods are more likely to be poor."

Do you think that lower-income families in more at-risk communities are more likely to purchase less healthy foods? If so, do you think that is an important factor to consider?

What do you make of this study, in general? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Here is a video about the health risks of drinking soda:

Comments

[iLdoRight]

10:56 PM on 10/30/2011

" Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it " Proverbs 22:6 Not doing that allows much bad influence to push a child to all sorts of bad things, soda may give a person some energy to do bad, but parents are more responsible for all the bad of their children than all the soda on earth could be. Good parents encourage their children to choose a better option, like water when possible, if extra energy of caffeine is not needed.

[SharonMcEachern]

02:47 PM on 10/27/2011

CAFFEINE GENDER EFFECT

There is a caffeine gender effect. Research has found that caffeine is more addictive for boys than for girls:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/2010/01/caffeine-gender-effect-caffeine-more-addictive-for-boys-than-girls.html

Plus, caffeine is in a lot of the foods and drinks teenage boys consume -- besides sodas, caffeine is in even popcorn, chewing gum, candy bars. Some teens are even being seen in hospital emergency rooms for caffeine overdoses. Most teens have no idea just how much caffeine they actually consume daily:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/2009/02/caffeine-is-in-everything-how-much-is-in-you.html#more

[Joseph Schmoe]

11:54 PM on 10/26/2011

Here's the funny thing about facts: it doesn't matter what you want to believe, it's still true.

[rtkirton]

06:53 AM on 10/30/2011

Here's the funny thing about studies: it doesn't matter what the data says, the results can be skewed. Ultimately, people point to the result and claim it is fact. Happens all the time in polling data.

[tricwebs]

11:54 AM on 10/31/2011

Studies are notorious for mixing up correlation and causation.