A recently published study about young people and sports drinks further clarifies the implication of drinking these energy beverages by the young, many of whom are not into any exercise regimen. Sports drinks, intended to replenish the salt and sugars that athletes shed during intense workouts, may actually work contrary to non-active young people who have taken to downing sports drinks in amounts apparently reserved only for active athletes. Patricia Waldron of Philly.com reports:
Elite athletes down sports drink to help them reach new heights of performance. But for the average young person, these “health drinks” may cause them to reach new highs—on the bathroom scale.
A new study published in the journal Obesity suggests that young people who consume one or more sports drinks each day gained more weight over a three year period than classmates who chose other beverages.
After studying over 4,121 females and 3,438 males aged 9-16, starting from 2004 through 2011, the researchers revealed that girls who consumed a serving of one bottle of sports drink a day experienced an increase of about 0.3 BMI (Body Mass Index) units over the next three year, while boys, on the other hand, had a 0.33 BMI increase over the same period.
What the study’s findings mean is that consuming sports drinks without regular exercise can literally make people fat. A good look at the composition of these beverages can provide an explanation. On average, a typical sports drink contains about 50 calories per 8 ounces, and 14 grams of sugar, a nutritional profile equal to that of conventional soda. Conventional wisdom has it that drinking too much soda causes obesity, and unless you are into some kind of intense workout where ions in your body need to be replaced, then you might be better off settling for local bottled water delivery services to your home than buying yourself cases of energy drinks that you think are better alternatives to soft sodas or even water.
Sports drinks are scientifically formulated to fuel highly active individuals, replenishing sugar calories and sodium, which are primarily the energy source for working muscles. As workouts stretch out longer, athletes gradually lose energy-giving sugar, among other things; to prevent themselves from collapsing, the ions lost in sweat, including sugar, have to be replenished, and sports drinks do just that.
For now, less sporty people may be better off choosing healthy drinking water instead from reliable spring water companies, such as American Pure Spring Water. Besides, drinking a glass of ice cold water actually burns calories; as the body comes into contact with the cold, metabolism soars to about 550% more to try and combat the temperature drop, burning calories in the process. Now that’s one subtle way to keep a figure.
(Source: Sports Drinks for the Non-Sporty Cause Weight Gain, Philly.com, August 20, 2014)
