Half of Americans drink a soda or sugary beverage each day; some are downing a lot

I read an interesting study about sugary drinks and typed the ones I thought would be most valuable to you. ---BBB

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the figures in a report said to be the government's first to offer national statistics for both adults and kids.

The study is based on in-person interviews of more than 17,000 people in the years 2005 through 2008. They were asked to recount everything they ate and drank in the previous day. However, diet sodas, sweetened teas, flavored milks and 100 percent fruit juice did not count.

An average can of sugared soda or juice has 10 to 12 teaspoons of sugar.

The new CDC report may be ammunition. It found:

About half of the population drinks a sugared beverage each day.

Males consume more than females, with teenage boys leading the pack. On average, males ages 12 through 19 drink the equivalent of nearly two cans of soda each day.

Poor people drink more affluent. Low income adults got about 9 percent of their daily calories from sugary beverages; for high-income adults it was just over 4 percent.

Blacks get more of their calories from sweetened beverages than other racial and ethnic groups.

The CDC study found more than half of the drinks are consumed at home. Less than 1 percent are bought at schools or day-care centers.