Sugary soft drinks linked to earlier periods in girls

Conclusion People should not be overly concerned by this study’s findings, as they cannot prove that drinking SSBs directly causes earlier puberty in girls – they can only show a link. Also, the difference between girls who drank the most SSBs in terms of when they started their period was an average of just 2.7 months earlier than girls who drank the least, which seems a relatively small difference. There are various limitations to this study – not least the possibility that the results are being influenced by confounding, which the researchers acknowledge. Nutrition is already known to play a role in the timing of first periods, with higher BMI and calorie intake linked to earlier periods. Though they have tried to adjust for these and other factors that could be having an effect (including physical activity), there is still the possibility that their effect or those of other factors have not been removed. It is difficult to know how much of a direct and independent effect – if any – SSBs could be having. Other points of limitation include that the possibility of inaccurate recall of SSB consumption and that the assessments may not be representative of longer-term consumption patterns. The first assessments were taken when the girls were around the age of 9-14 years – a time when many girls will be starting their periods anyway. This also makes it difficult to establish any cause and effect relationship. As the researchers say, SSB consumption during earli...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Pregnancy/child Source Type: news