Reduced consumption of sugary drinks helps the heaviest teenagers to lose weight

Research question Can sugary drinks lead to adolescent obesity?

Answer (possibly) When the heaviest teenagers stop drinking sugary drinks for six months, their body mass index decreases

Why did the authors do the study? Observational studies suggest that sweet sugary drinks such as colas are at least partly responsible for the epidemic of adolescent obesity in the United States. Commentators from the drinks industry argue that the evidence is circumstantial, however, and not robust enough for them to change their aggressive marketing tactics. These authors wanted to test the link between sugary drinks and obesity in a formal randomised trial, the most powerful form of evidence available, by finding out …