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Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health
Aim: The objective of this paper is to critically evaluate a study focused on the impacts of soft drink consumption on nutrition and health.
Introduction: Vartanian, Schwartz, and Brownell (2007) conducted a study to analyze the connection between the intake of soft drinks and nutrition and health results. It is observed that the usage of soft drinks has increased rapidly worldwide. It has imposed severe effects on health and became a controversial health issue. Soft drinks are claimed to be a contributor to the excessive weights, obesity and health related issues. Several countries like France, Britain and the United States banned the use of soft drinks in the school, including California that passed a relevant legislation in 2005. The issues related to soft drink consumption are not new they had started in 1942 when American Medical Association mentioned soft drinks as a high sugar containing product. Now the flaring question is whether these soft drinks results in energy over-consumption or they replace other nutrients. Moreover, their connection with obesity and diabetes are another raising issue.
The American Beverage Association has declined these blames saying that there is no solid proof available yet to confirm this connection. They additionally said that soft drinks are the best way to hydrate. The similar responses were received from the other beverage associations from Britain and Australian Council. According to the Vartanian, Schwartz, and Brownell (2007), behind these legislative and political debates the main science got vanished. In the present article, they focused on this serious issue. They performed a meta-analysis based on available literature through reviewing and analyzing the available scientific facts and various previous relevant studies to identify the link between soft drink and health.
Problem Statement: In this article the problem statement is to investigate the links between soft drink consumption and health outcomes. The study tried to explore whether these soft drinks are linked with elevated energy consumption, excessive body weight, a shift of nutrients in the body and with increased risk of several chronic diseases.
The article discussed the dependent, independent variable and covariates in the study, with primary and secondary health outcomes. The consumption of the beverages will be considered as independent variables. The study presents a hypothetical approach which is empirically testable. The problem studied in this article is related to the healthcare. The results of the study will help to address a health-related issue in the population and will provide valuable insights in the field of healthcare.
Review of Literature: The study performed by Vartanian, Schwartz and Brownell (2007), was published in American Journal of Public Health, 2007, under the article name of “Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”. The study identified clear hypotheses stating that there is a connection between soft drink consumption and increased weight, elevated risk of chronic disease, and obesity. The research question of the present study was supported by the literature review.
The study is a systematic literature review conducted using a statistical design describing the dependent and independent variables. The article provided the evident linkages between the variables. In this literature review total, 104 references were cited, out of which some are primary sources, and some are secondary sources. Most of the used sources are currently published after the year of 2000. Some of the sources are very old going as far back as the 1940s. The weaknesses and strengths of some citations are included in the study.
The reviewed literature is comparatively evaluated and discussed under the discussion section where the results of the present study are analyzed against the previous findings. The findings of this study were parallel to the previous studies. The conceptual as well the operational definitions are clearly identified in the article along with the inconsistencies of the study.
Research design, materials and methods: The researchers used a keyword approach and total 88 articles were extracted from MEDLINE and PsycINFO that were highly relevant to the topic. The main keywords included “soft drink,” “soda,” and “sweetened beverage.” The specific articles were included in the study that evaluated the links of soft drink with primary as well as secondary outcomes. Primary outcomes are energy intake, milk ingestion, body weight and calcium intake while secondary outcomes are health and nutrition and health. For gathering additional data, the authors of each article were requested to send all relevant unpublished data.
The sample gathered was full of variability in study designs, sample features, independent and dependent variables. To address the issue of heterogeneity in data, each outcome was assessed separately by testing the significance value using Q statistics. It was the best-applied method to evaluate the multiple testing for diverse means of data that uses a range of the data calculating the deviation of effect sizes. For average effect sizes, r values were employed using the software, Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version x2. Sometimes the data was also calculated manually.
For tackling with the odds ratios with uneven confidence intervals, the data was analyzed by Chill’s method. To adjust the data from different subgroups the average effect size were calculated and a conservative approach was applied through limiting the sample size. The level of measurements was very appropriate for the included statistics. The authors have considered the issue of reliability, validity and homogeneity of the data. The article presents an informative description regarding the used statistical approaches in the study. The article has provided all the weaknesses of the present study that was the heterogeneity of the vast data. The level of significance is also reported for each effect size data. Mostly the significance value was calculated below 0.001 that provided strong support to accept the proposed alternative hypotheses.
Expected outcome of the study and its future implication:
The results of the study were discussed separately for each primary outcome. Based on the twelve cross-sectional studies a positive relation between soft drink and energy intake were observed. It was also confirmed in this study. Another conceptual hypothesis showing a relation of soft drink consumption with elevated body weight showed a positive relation between body weight and soft drink consumption. The findings of this study have been parallel with the evidence available in various longitudinal studies focusing on the body weight outcomes.
The third primary outcome that was milk and calcium intake against soft drink consumption showed that it is linked with lower ingestion of milk and dairy products. According to the author a larger effect size were noticed amongst adults regarding the calcium intake versus the soft drink usage. The association between soft drink consumption and low nutrient intake showed a positive relation. The article cited a few studies that highlighted that soft drinks are the main source of carbohydrate. The study found out that the soft drink intake is inversely proportional to protein intake, fruit intake, and riboflavin ingestion. Though the connection between soft drink and fat and vitamin intake were not observed, but one study showed a negative association between soft drink intake and an overall healthy eating index.
The soft drink and its association with secondary outcomes that is health showed several striking connections. A study showed that those consuming more than one servings of soft drink per day were more prone to diabetes. Association of soft drink with hypocalcemia showed a positive relation, and when the subjects were recommended to reduce the soft drink intake, the results showed a significant increase in serum calcium. Another striking health outcome includes an association between soft drink intake low bone mineral density, high risk of bone fracture, an imbalance in calcium metabolism and overall calcium deficiency. It was observed that the consumption of sweetened beverages like soft drinks can increase the both type of blood pressures – systolic and diastolic. The article has concluded the soft drink consumption as a marker for poor nutrition especially for those people with poor diet and high consumption of sweetened beverages. It is suggested that soft drinks may interfere with the hunger patterns and trigger the craving for non-nutritious diet. Other stimulatory effects of soft drink intake are the ingestion of diet with high glycemic indexes such as fast food, hamburger, and pizza (Stroup et al., 2000; How to Read., 2016; Dixon-Woods et al., 2005).
A big range of studies has supported the positive association between soft drink intake and various medical conditions. The outcomes of the study were similar as predicted. The findings have revealed several striking medical facts that can impact the next generation at a greater level. It provides valuable information that will be helpful in designing the effective interventions while dealing with the relevant issues. By the available facts, it is confirmed that soft drinks provide rich energy with small nutrition causing several health care issues like diabetics, obesity, and high blood pressure. On the basis of these findings, special recommendations can be made that can be promoted within healthcare settings, clinics as well as schools.
References
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Vartanian, L. R., Schwartz, M. B., & Brownell, K. D. (2007). Effects of soft drink consumption
on nutrition and health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. American journal of
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