NEWS FLASH

U.S. Children Drink 7 Trillion Calories From Soda Each Year | The average American child consumes about 270 calories from sugary soft drinks and juices each day, which adds up to a total of about 7 trillion calories each year, according to a Harvard researcher. At the Obesity Society’s annual meeting last week, Dr. Steven Gortmaker, who compiled the calorie statistics, pushed for government intervention to keep sugar-loaded drinks from children because of rising obesity rates. There are more than 70 million Americans between ages 2 and 19, about 17 percent of whom are obese. A previous study found a link between soda consumption and obesity.