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Soda Makes Five-Year-Olds Break Your Stuff, Science Finds

Posted by Soulskill on from the just-like-alcohol-and-teenagers dept.

Daniel_Stuckey writes "Shakira F. Suglia and co-authors surveyed 2,929 mothers of five-year-olds (PDF) and found that 43 percent of the kids consumed at least one serving of soft drinks per day. About four percent of those children (or 110 of them), drank more than four soft drinks per day, and became 'more than twice as likely to destroy things belonging to others, get into fights, and physically attack people.' In the past, soda and its various strains have been related to depression, irritability, aggression, suicidal thoughts, and delusions of sweepstake-winning grandeur. Of course, this study didn't find out what types of soda the children had consumed."

6 of 287 comments (clear)

  1. Scientists finally discover... by sinij · · Score: 5, Funny

    Scientists finally discover sugar high, new at 11!

    1. Re:Scientists finally discover... by Nutria · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8747098

      However, anecdotal observations of this kind need to be tested scientifically before conclusions can be drawn, and criteria for interpreting diet behavior studies must be rigorous. ... Although sugar is widely believed by the public to cause hyperactive behavior, this has not been scientifically substantiated. Twelve double-blind, placebo-controlled studies of sugar challenges failed to provide any evidence that sugar ingestion leads to untoward behavior in children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or in normal children.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
  2. Correlation does not imply causation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It could be that bad parenting causes both the soda and the bad behavior.

    1. Re:Correlation does not imply causation by AchilleTalon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I agree with you. This study doesn't prove anything and is complete failure. It doesn't deserve to make its way on /. unless it is to discuss how bad studies can lead media to make false conclusions from thin data and no clue.

      --
      Achille Talon
      Hop!
  3. Great by Longjmp · · Score: 5, Funny

    Of course, this study didn't find out what types of soda the children had consumed.

    Another study finds that living children are 100% more likely to "destroy things belonging to others, get into fights, and physically attack people" than dead children.

    cheez.

    --
    There are fewer illiterates than people who can't read.
  4. It isn't the soda. It's the survey. by Smokeybehr · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The problem with the survey can be found in the results section of the Abstract. They oversampled males by +4, and 51% of the families were Black. This isn't a soda/soft drink issue; it's a parenting/cultural issue, which is mentioned, but essentially glossed over when you start delving into the "study". The families were already "in the system", as they were part of an ongoing study, which tells me that there were already parenting and cultural issues that go deeper than the family's diet.