Norwegian youth has been world leading when it comes to soda-drinking. In recent years, there has been a drastic reduction in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, especially lemonade.

In 2000, eight grade boys drank about half a liter (0.13 US Gal) of soda or lemonade with sugar every day, according to the Norwegian study “Ungkost” (Direct translation: ”Youngnutririon”)

It also showed that 30 percent of the sugar intake among adolescents came from soda, and the Norwegian Directorate of Health described the soda intake as disturbingly high.

Another study conducted by the World Health Organization showed that one in four 15-year-olds in Norway drank soda every day, which was much more than their peers in neighboring countries.

A study indicates that the intake of sugar-sweetened soft drinks has declined dramatically between 2001 and 2008. Participants in the study are sixth-and seventh-graders in randomly selected schools in Hedmark and Telemark County who responded to a questionnaire about their drinking habits.

Decrease for the first time

– It has been a drastic decrease, especially with regards to lemonade. It is also the first time since the start of producing soda that there has been a decline in soda drinking, Elling Bere says, Professor of Public Health at the University of Agder.

He leads a research project which among other topics has studied youth intake of fruits and vegetables and various soft drinks.

In the study, young people were asked how many times a week they do drink soft drinks, but not in what quantities. The results show that the lemonade intake has dropped from 4.8 to 2.5 times a week – and soda from 2.7 to 1.6.

There are various theories about the cause of the large decline.

Source: Forskning.no

Text modified by: Ester Jepsen, Thor News

Categories: Beverage, Culinary Surprises, Sports & Health