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'Rethink Your Drink': Sugary drinks on the rise among kids puts their health at risk

When kids over indulge in these sugary drinks they set themselves up for developing adult diseases before their 20. That includes diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and gum disease to name a few.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Children drink double the amount of sports drinks, chocolate milk and fruit juice as their parents. That startling statistic is prompting a new campaign to help reduce the sugary drinks our children consume called Rethink Your Drink.

When kids over indulge in sugary drinks they set themselves up for developing adult diseases before their 20-years-old, that includes diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and gum disease to name a few.

That's why Delta Dental, The American Heart Association and the Grand Rapids Children's Museum have come together to launch the Rethink Your Drink campaign here in West Michigan in hopes parents start switching out water for sugary drinks.

Dr. Thomas Boyden with the American Heart Association of West Michigan kicked the campaign with some pretty shocking statistics about the amount of sugar in our drinks, "If you think about a 20 ounce soda pop that's the equivalent of six donuts or even 18 cookies. And could you imagine eating 6 donuts or 18 cookies in a single day? And just doing that one sugary beverage a day is doing that to your body daily."

If you think artificial sweeteners are any better, think again. Artificial sweeteners have been known to change the bacteria in the gut and increase cravings for even more sugar.

Water is best, and it can jazz it up with fruit to give it more flavor.

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