"California Soda Survey Gives Weight To Health Concerns"...

A sweeping statewide study released today points to soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages as one of the main reasons why we are fat.

"For the first time, we have strong scientific evidence that soda is one of the – if not the largest – contributors to the obesity epidemic," Dr. Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, said Wednesday.

Obesity costs California $41 billion a year, an earlier report from the same organization found.

Suspicion of a link between soda and obesity isn't fresh news, but authors said the study is unprecedented in its scope.

"Bubbling Over: Soda Consumption and Its Link to Obesity in California" – a joint effort by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research – interviewed 42,000 Californians of all ages.

The study found that 24 percent of adults drink one or more non-diet sodas a day, and these adults are 27 percent more likely to be overweight.

The results for children were worse, researchers said. Sixty-two percent of adolescents ages 12 to 17 and 41 percent of children ages 2 to 11 imbibe at least one sugar-sweetened drink a day.

These kids, Goldstein said, will end up costing the state in future health care bills.

"This could be the first generation in modern history that will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents," he said.