The Effects of Soft Drinks on Exercise
If you are trying to lose weight through exercise, drinking soft drinks can be a major impediment. Regular soft drinks contain empty calories that will work against your weight loss goals. Soft drinks also cause several effects on the body that can increase your risk of illness and injury while exercising.
Other People Are Reading
-
Detriment to Weight Loss
-
Many people exercise to lose weight or to keep from gaining weight. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in, and the only ways to do that are to eat less or exercise more. However, you can easily offset the calories burned through exercise by drinking regular soda. A 12-ounce can of sugared soda has approximately 150 calories, depending on the brand. If you drink two a day, you would need to ride a bicycle for 30 minutes at about a 14-mile-an-hour pace to burn off just the calories from soda.
Dehydration
-
Most soft drinks, even sugar-free ones, have caffeine. Caffeine is a known diuretic, meaning it causes your kidneys to excrete fluids more rapidly than normal. During vigorous exercise, you sweat profusely, which is also a way your body excretes water. According to researchers at Rice University, although caffeine does not appear to significantly alter water balance during exercise, the possibility of dehydration due to its use is a concern. Soft drinks can also irritate the stomach, leading to diarrhea, which could further exacerbate dehydration.
-
Injuries
-
Soft drinks contain large amounts of phosphoic acid, which can leach calcium from the system and lead to weakened bones. Two separate studies, one conducted in 1994 and reported the Journal of Adolescent Health, and a 2000 study reported in Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found links between soft-drink consumption and an increased risk of bone fractures in adolescent girls.
Increased Performance
-
Despite their many negative effects on exercise, the caffeine in soft drinks does make them a potential performance booster. According to the Virtual Mass Spectrometry Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University, caffeine in doses of 100 to 200 milligrams results in increased awareness and focus as well as better body coordination. Rice University reports that caffeine aids in endurance exercise, allowing athletes to feel less fatigue.
-
References
- Photo Credit coke soft drink image by Sandra Henderson from Fotolia.com
