Soft drinks may raise fracture
risk in teen girls
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."
This another demonstration of
the detriment that the phosphorous and phosphoric acid plays
in removing precious magnesium from the body. This is the reason
that the calcium cannot be absorbed in the presence of soft
drinks. To supplement your diet using dietary supplement magnesium
and calcium, please visit the ionic
minerals product section.
