Soft Drinks May Lead to Violence in Teenagers

Consumption of sugary, caffeinated, carbonated beverages by teenagers is ubiquitous, but its behavioral correlates have been unclear. Researchers have now reported an incidental finding on this subject from a school survey.

The 40-minute survey was administered to students in randomly selected classrooms of nonspecialized Boston public high schools; parents provided passive consent. Seventy-one percent of eligible schools participated. Of 2725 eligible students, 1878 completed the self-report survey (69%); participants and nonparticipants had similar characteristics. Questions included number of cans of nondiet carbonated soft drinks consumed in the past 7 days, weapon use, and aggression to siblings, classmates, and dates. Analyses examined…