Fizzy drinks ‘could make youths more aggressive’

DRINKING fizzy soft drinks regularly could make teenagers significantly more likely to act aggressively and violently, research suggests.

The study found that consumption of more than five cans of non-diet carbonated drinks a week was linked to behaviour that included carrying weapons and violent assaults.

The US researchers said they did not yet know if drinking the sugary drinks was causing the behaviour, as opposed to other factors, but they have not ruled out a link.

But experts said several other issues could be affecting aggressive behaviour which also meant these youngsters were more likely to drink carbonated drinks.

The research, published in the journal Injury Prevention, was based on a survey of 1,878 teenagers aged 14 to 18 from 22 state schools in Boston. Almost one in three had drunk five or more cans in the past week.

Overall, frequent soft drink consumption was associated with a 9 to 15 per cent increased likelihood of engaging in aggressive behaviour.

Violence and weapon-carrying was in any event common among the teenagers, who largely represented ethnic minorities from poor backgrounds.

But rates of violent behaviour increased as students consumed more fizzy drinks, the researchers found.