Folks who had a sweetened drink with a high-protein meal stored more unused fat, compared to others who ate the same food with a sugar-free beverage, laboratory tests revealed. Their bodies did not burn about a third of the additional calories provided by the sugary drink.

Sodas, sweetened coffee and iced tea drinks, fruit drinks, energy beverages and the like are leading sources of added sugar in the American diet, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Six in 10 kids and half of adults drink at least one sugary beverage each day!

“At a therapeutic level this arms us with some important new insights to help in the fight against the obesity pandemic. For example, we know that ghrelin, our hunger hormone, can be reduced by exercise like running and cycling, or by eating a high-protein diet.

It’s a fascinating study.

KidsData.org reports that overweight and obese children are at higher risk for a range of health problems, including heart disease, stroke, asthma, and some types of cancer; they also are more likely to stay overweight or obese as adults.

Many factors contribute to childhood obesity and being overweight. The rise has been attributed to changes in food environments that make non-nutritious “junk” food and beverages more available, affordable, and appealing; as well as social and environmental changes that have reduced physical activity among children, e.g., increased sedentary time with TV and computer use, less physical education, neighborhoods that do not promote walking or riding bikes, and decreased safe places for children to play, among other factors.