Do you enjoy an occasional soda pop?

[disneysteve]

Let's keep it in perspective a 12 oz can of Coke is 140 calories. Not really THAT much. If you're relatively active you can offset that easy. It's the super-size consumption of soda that creates the problem.

140 calories/ day * 365 days/year = 51,100 calories

51,100 calories/3,500 calories per pound = 14.6 pounds potentially gained just by drinking 1 can of regular soda/day.

[yellow heel]

I only drink soda (diet coke) when I eat greasy food like a burger or pizza etc. I used to no like diet sodas but I may be getting old and now I think regular sodas are too sweet.

[Frugal]

I don't drink a lot of pop because I was not really allowed to drink it much before I was 10-12, and after that only sparingly. I think if you drink it more as a child, you might tend to get addicted to it as an adult more easily.

[debtfreeme]

Very infrequently. I gave up soda 4 or 5 years ago and now only have it four or five times a year.

[Like2Plan]

I drink water while at work. DH and I drink ice cold diet Pepsi at home. When we take a flight (almost always Southwest), we generally have diet Coke because that is all they serve, but it is not the same as diet Pepsi.
kork13 reminded me of how much I like root beer especially when served in a frosty cold mug. <sigh!> Diet root beer is just not the same. So, it has been years since I have had any root beer.

[Ima saver]

I make my own distilled water, so that is what I drink all day long. Soda was a treat as a kid, we never kept it in the house. I do use diet sprite when I make a mixed drink after dinner. I also do not drink coffee or tea.

[GREENBACK]

140 calories/ day * 365 days/year = 51,100 calories

51,100 calories/3,500 calories per pound = 14.6 pounds potentially gained just by drinking 1 can of regular soda/day.

But if you walk 1.5 miles or run 1 mile or do something equally active you can eliminate any caloric gain. Sadly, the problem is that most won't/don't. I don't blame soda or fast food or anything else out there with our obesity problem as much as I blame the average person with sitting on their butt way to much. DS, you're a physician so you probably know this all too well.

[maat55]

I drink very little pop. DW drinks it alot.

[disneysteve]

I don't blame soda or fast food or anything else out there with our obesity problem as much as I blame the average person with sitting on their butt way to much.

While a sedentary lifestyle is certainly part of the problem, food is really the main problem. The average American consumes about 200 more calories per day now than they did 20 years ago. Bottom line is we simply eat more (mainly drink more) than we used to, or need to, especially in light of our lower levels of physical activity.

I deal with this every single day with almost every patient I see. Nationwide, more than 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese. In my practice, the number is well over 80% and that includes all ages from 2 on up. I have numerous pediatric patients (under 18) who are at least 100 pounds overweight and I have dozens of adult patients who fit that description. It is really scary. So much of what I treat on a daily basis is complications of obesity.

Is soda the problem? Not by itself but it is one heck of a big piece of the problem.

Here is a study mapping soda consumption in the US and comparing it to the diabetes rate. You can see that the areas with the highest rates of consumption are also the areas with the most diabetes.
La Vida Locavore:: Soda Consumption vs. Diabetes

The US leads the world in per capita soda consumption by far:
Soft drink consumption by country. Definition, graph and map.

Numerous studies have linked soda consumption with childhood obesity rates.

And this is something that has changed over time.
Soft Drink Consumption Soars : LC Research/Media : Active Low-Carber Forums
From 1977 to 2001, daily calorie intake from soft drinks increased from 50 to 144.
During the same period, Americans got 38% less of their calories from milk.

Over 20% of all sugar consumed in America comes in the form of soda.

[My English Castle]

Scary stats, Disney Steve! I probably have six sodas a year. We drink fizzy water--flavored no-cal sparkling water. We'd probably be better off with stuff right out of the tap, but we all like this and probably have a can a day each. What startled me the other day is the amount of sugar in raisin bran. Eeek-that can't all be from the sugar in the raisins.

[khosta]

i used to drink soda - diet coke - all day everyday. It was so easily accessible when I worked in a restaurant... it was my water. Now I have displined myslef and I onyl have a couple a WEEK!!! Sometimes I just love that bubbly refreshing taste and a nice little kick to get me through the day - coffee doesn't always do it for me!!!

[charley_alford]

Yes I am regular soda drinker and I like Dr. Pepper

[couchrobt]

I believe everyone has had a soda pop craving every time and again. Though in the long run, as many, in general where the health comes to a decline, carbonated products are one in the long list of 'do not eat'.