The scientists did not count salt added at the table or used in cooking when determining how much the children ate. “It is likely that the amount of salt reported in this paper is an underestimation of the true intake of salt,” Grimes says.
“It is hard to speculate” how the extra salt would have motivated the link with sugar-sweetened refreshments, she says.
If eating salty foods leads to children to drink more sugary drinks can’t be identified from her study, Grimes says. “It is possible that the association may in part be due to a clustering of unhealthy dietary behaviors.” People who choose salty snacks over more nutritious choices might also be more likely to prefer soda to water. After all, people generally order fries with their Coke, and vice versa.
But, Grimes says, the notion that eating more salt increases children’s thirst for sugary drinks “is definitely possible,” based on studies in adults and animals.
“One of the reasons bars provide free salted nuts, snacks, and popcorn is that they know that eating these foods makes people thirsty, and they will buy more drinks,” she says.
In Grimes’ study, 62% of contributors reported drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, noticeably lower than the 80% observed in studies of U.S. children.
Barry Popkin, PhD, a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, says Australian kids may not drink as much soda or sports drinks, but they make up for it by taking fruit juice and are just as likely to be obese as their U.S. peers.
One weakness in Grimes’ study was that fruit juice, which has the same impact as drinks with added sugar, wasn’t provided when grow tallying up children’s drinking of sugary beverages, Popkin says.
“It is hard to speculate” how the extra salt would have motivated the link with sugar-sweetened refreshments, she says.
If eating salty foods leads to children to drink more sugary drinks can’t be identified from her study, Grimes says. “It is possible that the association may in part be due to a clustering of unhealthy dietary behaviors.” People who choose salty snacks over more nutritious choices might also be more likely to prefer soda to water. After all, people generally order fries with their Coke, and vice versa.
But, Grimes says, the notion that eating more salt increases children’s thirst for sugary drinks “is definitely possible,” based on studies in adults and animals.
“One of the reasons bars provide free salted nuts, snacks, and popcorn is that they know that eating these foods makes people thirsty, and they will buy more drinks,” she says.
In Grimes’ study, 62% of contributors reported drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, noticeably lower than the 80% observed in studies of U.S. children.
Barry Popkin, PhD, a nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, says Australian kids may not drink as much soda or sports drinks, but they make up for it by taking fruit juice and are just as likely to be obese as their U.S. peers.
One weakness in Grimes’ study was that fruit juice, which has the same impact as drinks with added sugar, wasn’t provided when grow tallying up children’s drinking of sugary beverages, Popkin says.
