Studies drawing associations between teen actions and adult health

The lifestyles we develop as teenagers might affect our health as adults. For example, soda is replacing milk as a significant component of nutrition for many teenagers. Today, teenagers drink twice as much soda as milk. Two decades ago, milk consumption exceeded soda. How does this affect health? It significantly increases the risk of developing metabolic syndrome as an adult.

Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of serious medical conditions. According to the American Heart Association, it is characterized by abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood pressure, glucose intolerance, a tendency to form blood clots and increased overall inflammation. Metabolic syndrome significantly increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. It has been estimated that more than 50 million Americans (one in six) have it.

In a recent medical study, the risk of developing metabolic syndrome increased by almost 50 percent among those who drink only one soda per day as a child or teenager. What was more important was that the consumption of diet soda also resulted in the same increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome as an adult!

This research by Ramachandran Vasan, M.D., and his team at the Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School was published this year in the medical journal Circulation. Although the study was based on a questionnaire, the database was large, containing the lifestyles and health of 6,000 individuals. Those who drank more than one soda per day had a 48 percent higher risk of developing metabolic syndrome compared to those who drank less than one soft drink per day.

Even after adjusting for other factors such as total calories, fats and sedentary lifestyles, there was still a significant association between soda consumption and the risk of metabolic syndrome. Interestingly, diet soda consumption resulted in the same risk even though it has zero calories. (Previous research has demonstrated that diet soda consumption in children is linked to weight gain and high blood pressure).

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, teenagers consume soda twice as often as milk. Twenty years ago, the opposite was true. Today, the average teenage boy who drinks soda will consume three or more sodas per day, with 10 percent drinking more than seven sodas per day. Teenage girls who drink soda consume an average of two sodas per day and the top 10 percent drink five or more per day. I have had some teenage patients who consumed eight to 12 cans of soda per day.

The researchers in this study did not say that soda consumption directly causes metabolic syndrome but that there is a strong association. Sodas might encourage a dietary preference for sweeter foods. Also, diet soda might not be satisfying and promote increased food consumption. These are only theories and are heavily debated in medical literature.

The bottom line is that our health as adults begins as teenagers. Limiting access to sodas, both at home and especially in schools (as they have done in California) might prevent serious disease in the future.