Are Sports Drinks Deceiving You?

They claim to be great for you and your kids, but are sports drinks really that much better than soda? One new study suggests not.

“They’re almost as sweet as Coke,” Dr. Nalini Ranjit, assistant professor of behavioral sciences at the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at the University of Texas School of Public Health and the study’s lead author, informs us in the study. “They’re not healthy, even though that’s what you’ve been told.”

Ranjit compared 15,000 Texas middle and high schoolers’ soda and sports drink habits with their eating and exercise habits and found that while consumption of both beverages is associated with poor eating and inactivity, sports drinks are also connected to better eating and more physical activity.  However, this does not mean they are actually good for you.

Because kids who drink sports drinks are also more likely to participate in more physical activity and eat healthier, researchers concluded that kids think sports drinks are better for them. The study urges parents to help kick the habits that are associated with the consumption of sugary drinks and know about the misperception that these sports beverages are a healthy option.