One in four adults blame fizzy drinks as main cause of obesity

18th June 2010, 12:30pm

One in four adults in the UK blame fizzy drinks as the main cause of obesity, found a new YouGov SixthSense report.

These findings come in the wake of recently published reports into new potential health risks associated with soft drinks.

Commenting on the findings, research director for YouGov SixthSense, James McCoy, said: "The perceived health risks related to soft drinks are, for the most part, the same ones that have been around for years. We are more likely to link soft drink consumption with tooth decay than we are to weight gain. Similarly, it may be some time before new health concerns, such as liver damage, filter through to the wider population."

A high proportion of adults in the UK (66%) are worried about the influence drinks companies have on young children; with 29% of respondents in favour of banning all advertisements for carbonated or sugary soft drinks.

Despite this, more than half of parents (51%) have let their children drink Coca-Cola in the last year, 40% of parents have served their children Ribena and 57% have served Robinson's, including Squash, Barley Water and Fruit Shoots. And 34% of parents have given their children bottled water over the past year.

McCoy added: "In one way or another, fizzy drinks are widely viewed as being detrimental to one's health. Many people are particularly concerned with the role of soft drinks companies in the lives of young people.

"However, bearing in mind that the majority of parents are still willing to serve soft drinks, it can be argued that a high level of media saturation seems to negate perceived health concerns. Unsurprisingly, 75% of respondents in the report highlighted 'heavily advertised' as a term they associated with Coca-Cola."

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