Soft Drinks - America

            Soft Drinks - America's Drinking Problem in Teens.
            
             Would we really be smiling if we knew what soda was doing to our health, especially .
             the health of young adults? Since 1978, soda consumption in the United States has tripled .
             for boys and doubled for girls. Why the increase? For starters soda companies .
             aggressively target young adults by advertising on television programs, billboards, magazines .
             and posters. Since soda is available anywhere, the message that we are sending to children .
             is that it is okay for them to drink it constantly in place of other more nutritious beverages. .
             This marketing strategy leaves out many essential facts about soda's effects on nutrition .
             and overall health, especially in children and teen's.
             While teens are developing during their puberty years, almost half of the adult .
             skeleton is still being formed and another 15 percent of height is added. These years for .
             teens are extremely critical for achieving full bone mass and their potential for height. .
             The risk for osteoporosis depends largely on how much bone mass is built early in life. .
             Girls build 92% of their bone mass by age 18, but if they don't consume enough calcium in .
             their teenage years, they cannot "catch up" later. Experts recommend higher calcium .
             intakes for youths aged 9 to 18 than they do for adults aged 19 to 50. Phosphorus in soda .
             interferes with calcium absorption. While osteoporosis takes decades to develop, .
             preliminary research suggests that drinking soda instead of milk can contribute to broken .
             bones in children. One study found many children aged three to fifteen years old that had .
             suffered from broken bones and had lower bone mass, which can result from low calcium .
             intake. 1 .
             So what does soda also do to the health of young teens? It contributes to adding .
             calories without any nutritional value. Soda provides ten teaspoons of sugar and 180 empty .
             calories per can. The U.