Americans Are Officially Drinking More Bottled Water Than Soda

Here’s a health trend we can get behind: Americans are now drinking more bottled water than soda, Reuters reports.

That stat comes from Beverage Marketing Corp., a research and consulting firm that tracks consumption of what we’re drinking. According to the data, 2016 was the first year that bottled water surpassed carbonated soft drinks as the largest beverage category by volume in this country.

Bottled water consumption has been growing steadily for decades, and reached 39.3 gallons per person a year in 2016. That’s about a nine percent increase from the year prior.


Soda, on the other hand, slipped to 38.5 gallons per person a year in 2016. That’s quite the slide from the 1990s and early 2000s, when people were regularly guzzling more than 50 gallons yearly.

Now, that still is a lot of soda to be downing. And while the decrease in consumption is something to applaud, it’s still important to recognize that sugar-sweetened beverages like soda are still harming our health.

For one thing, it’s making us fat: People who drink sugar-sweetened beverages, like soda, daily have 10 percent more visceral fat—the deep fat wrapped around your organs that’s linked to many health problems—than those who don’t drink them, a 2014 study in the Journal of Nutrition found.

What’s more, Americans who regularly drink sugar-sweetened beverages—say, a can of soda per day—were 46 percent more likely to develop prediabetes than those who drank less or no sugary drinks, a Tufts study found. That’s important, since that condition is a precursor to diabetes.

Your move, then, is to cut down your consumption. If you find yourself reaching for soda for a jolt, check out these 7 ways to boost your energy without caffeine.
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Article Source: http://www.menshealth.com/health/americans-drink-more-water-than-soda