Study linking soft drinks to child behavioural problems shows importance of offering water in schools, says PHS Waterlogic
Cardiff (PRWEB UK) 21 August 2013 -- A study from the US has established a connection between soft drinks and aggression in children as young as five.
According to an article published on 19th August in the Inquisitr, researchers from Columbia University analysed data from nearly 3,000 families which had been collected through a number of surveys over a period of several years.
The survey in question asked mothers to report how much soft drink their children drank on a typical day, as well as answering questions in behavioural problems.
Originally writing in the Journal of Paediatrics, the researchers found that the more soft drinks the children consumed the more inclined they were towards aggression, social withdrawal and inability to focus on a task.
In fact, children who drank four or more servings of soft drink a day were more than twice as likely to destroy belongings, get into fights and physically attack people as those who did not consume sugary drinks at all.
The article claims that the association remained even after the researchers took into account other environmental factors like socioeconomic status and maternal depression.
Water cooler supplier PHS Waterlogic believes this study emphasises the importance on schools to encourage children to drink fresh water when they are thirsty.
David Matthews from PHS Waterlogic said: “This new piece of research adds to the mounting evidence that soft drinks have a negative effect on the health of children.
“We already know that just 2% dehydration can cause up to a 10% drop in concentration and behaviour.
“But if soft drinks cause behavioural problems, giving sugary beverages to thirsty children is not going to help them reach their full potential.
“Schools have a responsibility to offer children a constant supply of fresh drinking water, but they can also go one step further by installing water machines in communal areas.
“Children are more likely to opt for water if it tastes nice. A water dispenser from Direct Water Coolers will not only filter the water that comes from the main supply, but will also keep it at a refreshingly chilled temperature.”
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Notes for editors
About PHS
The PHS Group is a leading workplace services provider, and has traded in the UK since 1963. It has a diverse service portfolio aimed at improving work and leisure spaces, while making life much easier for facilities, building and people managers.
PHS really does ‘do more than you think’, providing products and services for:
• Crate rental and packaging
• Interior and exterior planting
• Laundry equipment and workwear
• Matting and flooring
• Records storage and management
• Shredding and recycling
• Testing and compliance
• Washrooms
• Waste management
• Water machines
• Workplace consumables
PHS provides these direct to UK companies, and also operates as a tier one supplier to the facilities management market, supporting the integrated service propositions of most of the major FMs.
The PHS Group’s annual turnover for the year ending March 2012 was £422 million. It employs around 5,000 personnel, operates from a wide network of 153 regional service branches, and takes care of over 250,000 customers at over 450,000 locations in the UK, Ireland, Holland, Belgium and Spain.
http://www.phs.co.uk/waterlogic
Chloe Hibbert, PHS Waterlogic, http://www.phswaterlogic.co.uk/, +44 2920809185, [email protected]
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