Soft drinks are a drink not recommended for the diet of children (or for adults). Like treats, they should be avoided or restricted to specific occasions, such as birthdays or special events.
They do not provide quality nutrients, in addition to predisposing to diseases related to their high sugar content. We tell you why it's not good for children to drink soda.
The main reason: its high sugar content
You will be surprised at the amount of sugar that soda contains. According to the Alliance for Food Health (Mexico), a 600ml bottle of Coca Cola contains the equivalent of 12 tablespoons (coffee size) of sugar, or what is the same, 60 grams.
Of course, no organism, let alone that of a small child, needs such a quantity of sugar. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a recommended and moderate sugar intake should represent the equivalent of 10 percent of total energy (kilocalories) consumed.
The recommended sugar intake for a preschooler with an average diet of 1,500 calories would be 37 grams, equivalent to 7 teaspoons or lumps of sugar per day. In the case of an adult, 2,300 calories, 57 grams = 11 teaspoons or lumps of sugar per day.
We are talking that only 600ml of soda provide almost twice as much sugar as a child should consume throughout the day, taking into account the sugar contained in all foods, of course.
What happens if a child consumes more sugar than he needs? Promotes and accelerates the appearance of overweight and childhood obesity, which is also a serious risk factor for developing other related diseases such as diabetes (caused by high concentrations of blood glucose), cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and high triglycerides.
We must not forget that also favors the appearance of caries, because the sugars they contain easily degrade and become compounds that increase the acidity of the oral cavity making it more prone to form.
For all this, it's not good for children to drink soda, so we should avoid them as food supplements and reduce their consumption as much as possible.
