Relationship between carbonated and other low nutrient dense beverages andbone mineral content of adolescents

Low nutrient dense beverages such as carbonated drinks are increasing in th e adolescent's diet, and concern has been raised that these beverages, part icularly colas, reduce bone mass. We determined whether the type of low nut rient dense beverage as well as the amount was related to bone mineral cont ent and accumulation during the two years spanning the time of peak bone ma ss accrual in adolescence. Total body bone mineral content (BMC) and dietar y intakes were obtained for 59 boys and 53 girls when each subject was +/- one year of his or her measured age of peak rate of BMC. Consumption of low nutrient dense beverages was negatively related to BMC (r = -0.256, P = 0. 03) and accrual (r = -0.227, P = 0.05) for adolescent girls but not boys. M ilk beverage intake in both boys and girls was inversely related to low nut rient dense beverage consumption (r = -0.343, P 0.01; r = -0.244, P = 0.08, respectively). Low nutrient dense beverage ingestion by adolescents appear ed to reduce bone mineral accrual and BMC in teenage girls by replacing mil k beverages. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.