Calm down your kids, keep away the soda

Calm down your kids, keep away the soda

Dr. George I. Traitses

What does soda have to do with your child’s aggressive behavior? Quite a lot, according to a new study.

Researchers recently found that children who consumed soda tended to measure higher on scales that measure aggressive behavior than kids who do not drink soda.

The study published by The Journal of Pediatrics was cautious to blame soda entirely for aggressive behavior, but it did make a connection.

Researchers used an existing study of mothers and their 2,929 children from 20 large U.S. cities. The mothers and children were first recruited between 1998 and 2000 to be periodically interviewed and evaluated.

According to the study, mothers completed a checklist on children’s behaviors over the previous two months to measure withdrawal, attention and aggression. The mothers were also asked how many servings of soda their children drank per day and about other habits such as TV watching. Overall, 43 percent of the kids drank at least one soda per day and 4 percent drank four or more servings.

Aggressive behavior was measured on a scale between 0 and 100 – with higher scores indicating more aggression. Kids who reportedly drank no soda scored 56 on the aggression scale, on average. That compared to 57 among kids who drank one serving per day, 58 among those who drank two servings, 59 among those who drank three servings and 62 for four soda servings or more per day. Researchers found that drinking two or four or more servings of soda per day was tied to higher aggression scores. Overall, kids who drank four or more servings of soda per day were twice as likely to destroy other people’s belongings, get into fights and physically attack people, compared to children who didn’t drink soda, according to the study.

Stick to healthy beverages for your child such as water to stay hydrated. Water is all natural with no potential side effects on behavior.

Doctors of chiropractic are specialists, who provide drug-free, hands-on treatment that targets the source of pain. Studies show that chiropractic treatment is increasingly recognized as one of the safest and most effective health care solutions. Chiropractic care can be used successfully to treat injuries resulting from automobile accidents and sports injuries. For more information on prevention and wellness, or to find a doctor of chiropractic near you, go to the Patient Information section on the Ontario Chiropractic Association Website www.chiropractic.on.ca or call 1-877-327-2273.

For more information on health and safety visit the Ontario Chiropractic Association; website at www.chiropractic.on.ca or call 1877-327-2273; Dr. George Traitses, www.infinite-health.com