Diet Soda and Blood Pressure in Children

A study reported in the December 16, 2015 edition of the Journal of Hypertension found an association between diet soda and higher blood pressure in 5th graders. Of the nearly 500 5th graders in the study, 5.1% never consumed soda, 85% consumed sugar sweetened soft drinks, and 9% drank diet soft drinks. Given the problem of childhood obesity, these numbers alone should give us pause. The non-soda drinkers had the lowest blood pressure, while the diet soda consumers had the highest blood pressure. The researchers did adjust for sex, age, BMI, physical activity, addition of salt to food, and education of head of the family. So this can’t be explained away by lack of exercise. If the chemicals that make diet soda palatable are already affecting the children’s blood vessels, this can’t be good news as they become adults.