According to a Harvard Medical School study, girls who drink sugary soda more often are more likely to start their menstrual cycles at a younger age.
Researchers analyzed data from 5,583 girls in the Growing up Today Study (GUTS), surveying American children from 1996 to 2001, beginning when they were between the ages of 9 to 14. The study, published in Human Reproduction, found that girls were 24% more likely to start menarche (their first menstrual cycle) in the next month if they drank at least 1.5 servings of sugar-sweetened drinks a day than if they drank no more than two servings per week.
This correlation was true for the carbonated drinks with added sugars, but not for drinks with natural sugars like fruit juice, says Karin Michels, a co-author and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. This study did not examine the underlying reasons for this, but according to Dr. Karin Michels, it’s probably because the natural sugar in fruit juice has less of an effect on insulin levels and changes to hormonal metabolism the sugar often added to carbonated drinks.
The researchers say sugary sodas also put kids at risk for obesity, which is another cause of early menstruation. They accounted for obesity in this study, and found that sugary drinks cause early menstruation regardless of weight.
Taking a cue from New York City’s proposed ban on sugary drinks, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is looking to pass a similar crackdown to combat obesity and diabetes.
Residents of Cambridge may have to sacrifice larger portions of soft drinks in its battle of the bulge, nearly a month after New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made national headlines with his own proposal.
Cambridge Mayor Henrietta Davis submitted the proposal at a city council meeting on Monday night.
The size limit on the drinks was not mentioned in her resolution, but it’s expected to follow Bloomberg’s limit of 16 ounces.
Cambridge Mayor Henrietta Davis told WHDH: “When people are served these gigantic portions of soda in bottomless cups, sometimes it’s just more than people are able to resist.”
Taking a cue from New York City's proposed ban on sugary drinks, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is looking to pass a similar crackdown to combat obesity and diabetes
Also like Michael Bloomberg’s resolution, the Davis’ measure has ignited a heated discussion.
Axis Sivitz, 25, of Cambridge, told The Boston Globe that he supports the ban, saying: “When faced with a health crisis, you have to do something about it.”
Sophia Talamasm, 29, told the paper she is against Henrietta Davis’ proposal.
She said: “Sometimes you need a soda.”
Cambridge is home to Harvard University, where Michael Bloomberg got his MBA degree.
New York City opened the issue for public debate after Michael Bloomberg pitched the crackdown to the city council late last month.
While Michael Bloomberg has faced uproar in New York over the ban, polls show that New Yorkers are mostly split on the issue.
The city Board of Health, which is appointed by the mayor, is expected to approve the measure after a three-month comment period.
It could take effect as early as March, unless the critics who accuse Michael Bloomberg of instituting a “nanny state” can get the courts or state lawmakers to intervene.
Last week, the legality of such a crackdown was called into question.
It’s not just businesses and industry groups that could sue. In theory, any individual affected by the ban could bring a legal challenge.
But it wouldn’t be enough to simply claim that the ban infringes on personal freedom, said Rick Hills, a New York University law professor specializing in local government law and New York City.
And Rick Hills said that opponents would have to do more than argue that the law affects one source of sugar more than others.
Courts, he said, have repeatedly ruled that the government can try to eradicate societal ills one step at a time.
