We naturally tend to focus more on food than beverages, so I found this to be food for thought (pun intended)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060304/...ltBHNlYwM3MTY-

Once upon a time I was obsessed with pop and would regularly drink a 2 litre bottle during an evening. Several years ago I switched to diet pop after having decided I preferred it (I found diet coke lighter, more bubbly and less syrupy than regular coke). In 2002, after deciding it was time to lose over 100lbs., I joined Weight Watchers and was told to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. Right then and there I gave up pop (except for my occasional rye & coke during socializing) and switched to water. I don't really miss pop, especially since the advent of flavoured waters (I particularly like lemon and lime sparkling mineral waters.)

The article seems a bit heavy handed ("soda causes obesity!"), but I think it has many valid points. Do you think pop will eventually have a warning label like cigarettes?

Hmmm, not so sure about a warning label but I agree with you that the article does have some interesting points. I personally agree with the correlation between people who either don't drink soda or limit the amount they do drink and the likelihood that they consume vegetables and fruits regularly. I must admit that facts holds true for me, my family and friends -- the ones who actual eat veggies on a daily basis rarely drink soda. I think a warning label on soda is just too much -- should we also put one on ice cream, chocolate bars, gummy bears, etc.? It would never end!

~Misty

I did not get a chance to read the article yet but I will say this...when I moved here to Korea I just kind of gave up on soda. I like having my water foutain in my house. Anyway I know my dentist was very excited by the fact my teeth are much easier to clean now. I also find it easier to digest foods I could not digest before.

I have never been much of a soda/pop drinker, I find that it does nothing to actually quench my thirst. I don't know why people wouldn't believe it is fattening, it is just coloured, flavoured sugar water. It's like those people trying to sue McDonald's for making them fat.

Long ago I made a personal rule: don't drink your calories. I bend that rule for protein shakes, but those calories are figured into my day and all accounted for. I switched to drinking diet sodas at that point, and now I can't stand regular sodas. Ugh! It's like drinking a can of syrup.

To me it's an obvious association: you drink your calories and don't figure those in to your day, you gain weight. Um, duh. Do we really need to have this pointed out? (Not attacking the OP, understand, just silliness from the world in general.)

That being said, yeah, I drink diet soda. And I'm absolutely unashamed/unabashed about it. Yeah, I've heard the arguments that it harms your teeth. I've heard that the phosphates are [potentially] bad for your bones. I've heard the claims that Aspartame causes cancer. It's my choice to drink diet soda. I don't drink coffee, I drink lemonade maybe once a week, I rarely drink alcohol...I'm allowed my soda.

That being said, I also lift weights (and have for years) to keep my bones strong, I make sure I get enough calcium in my diet, and I eat (on average) about 7 servings of fruits/veggies a day. I don't like chocolate, my body HATES sugar, the only fried foods I allow myself are tortilla chips once a week, and my once-a-week 'treat' is a French baguette with butter from Panera (split with a friend over gossip). There's gotta be a balance somewhere. My soda is okay.

(But then, if I were drinking the full sugar stuff, it'd be a totally different story! Does anyone ever wish that their diets were that simple--"oh, hey, if I cut out the soda I'd lose 50 pounds by the end of the year, so that one small change will radically change my life!!" If only I had any of those changes left to make! )

I am a closet pop addict, it's definitely my "dirty little secret". While I wouldn't agree with the warning label just yet, I do believe that it will be known on the same level as cigarette's in the future. While I never drink more than 1L in a day, converting to diet isn't an option for me. Aspartame, that new stuff they make, it all gives me migraines and makes me retain water like it's no one's business. My justification? If you are going to to indulge, why not just go to the good stuff? heh. No excuses, it is what it is.

-Aimee

I used to drink gallons of Diet Coke, but stopped cold turkey when I gave up caffeine (oh, my, the headaches!). I also noticed that quitting helped my acid reflux a bit. Now I just don't have a taste for any type of soda pop, although about once a year I'll get the urge for a root beer float.

Thanks for posting the article Jill. I don't drink very much pop at all any more. Usually one can of diet ginger ale every other day or so - it's quite hard to fit it in when you're drinking over a gallon of water a day. That with my Timmy's, doesn't leave very much room for the pop.

~Dee

I've never been much of a pop drinker, and probably have no more than one tin a month of the diet stuff. Now if we were talking about wine....

I've never been much of a soda drinker. Before starting this new, healthier lifestyle, I would do maybe one of the mini-cans of D. Coke a day. Now, with all the water I'm putting in, I do maybe i mini-can a week.

Interestingly, a cousin of mine used to be a rabid Coca-Cola drinker. 4 or 5 bottles a day, easy (back in the day when sodas came in glass bottles). She was, and stayed, skinny as a rail. She also drank whole milk and never made any apologies about it. Me, on the other hand, drank Tab and skim milk (yuck), and blew up like a balloon. Oh, her family ate white bread and potatoes and sugar-frosted cereal and all sorts of other "bad" things, too.

Just cutting out soda can't be the answer. It's just a part of a very complex puzzle, if you ask me.

As far as putting warning lables on soda, well, that's just silly, if you ask me. Where will it stop?

Good article Jill. Valid points from both camps I would say. Cause and effect is a very hard thing to determine. However, common sense I think has to prevail somewhat. Meaning, pop is full of sugar and if you don't account for it, you are going to gain the weight. The old GIGO principle (Garbage In, Garbage Out). I too am a closet diet-pop drinker. However, I am trying to cut down. I try not to have any diet pop until I have had my water intake for the day. I am finding that I do not crave it as much any more.

I am a HUGE pop drinker, but it's always been diet. So it won't help me there. For lent I gave up pop. I always drank Caffinne free, so I didn't have withdrawls, but I really miss it!!! But I must say, I drank water all weekend and I usually have a pretty tough time on the weekends!!

So maybe no pop is a good thing!!!

I'm a soda addict. I'm trying very hard to break the habit. I usually drink diet though, so that's something. I'm trying harder and harder to drink more water, and I've been doing well. I've just got to cut them out completely.

I drink a can of Coke Zero every morning (I don't like coffee or tea), a large Diet Pepsi at lunch time, and second can of Coke Zero with dinner. I used to drink milk with dinner, but I switched to diet soda to save on the calories. I am out of the closet about it

Some points in the article were good, but some are very arguable. The one that stood out to me was the correlation over time of the increase in soda consumption to the increase in obesity (I believe the time frame was 1977-97). Now, I'm sure there was a HUGE increase in the consumption of fast food in that time period as well, not to mention artificial sweeteners, prepared meals, and countless other things. Why would we assume the obesity is linked directly to soda?

Warning labels--nah. That's a bit much. People just need to be smarter about what they take in and better educate their children.

There's also been a decrease in the amount of exercise the average person gets. Computers, VCRs, video games, etc. all have had an impact upon obesity levels, IMO.

When I was at school, we had an hour of P.E. 3 times a week, plus after-school activities that kept us moving. My friend's daughter doesn't even get an hour a week at her school, and when she comes home, it's "flop in front of the telly" time followed by a couple of hours sat at the computer. I've been marvelling lately at how few footprints there are in the snow on the pavements--lots between front door and the road, but not many along the paths. Two-car families seem to be the norm, and people just don't move nearly as much these days.

I believe that inactivity is a far greater factor in rising levels of obesity than what we put in our mouths.