Here's Why Soda Can Be Dangerous For Young Women

We all know that soda isn't good for you. But did you know that girls who drink soda often could be in danger of disrupting their hormone levels?

New findings published in the journal Human Reproduction show that this kind of liquid sugar could result in early menstruation.

"Our study adds to increasing concern about the wide-spread consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks among children and adolescents in the USA and elsewhere," said lead study author Karin Michels, a professor at Harvard Medical School, in a news release. "The main concern is about childhood obesity, but our study suggests that age of first menstruation (menarche) occurred earlier, independently of body mass index, among girls with the highest consumption of drinks sweetened with added sugar. These findings are important in the context of earlier puberty onset among girls, which has been observed in developed countries and for which the reason is largely unknown."

For the study, researchers looked at the soda and other sugary liquids to determine if girls who consumed these products were getting their periods earlier. They followed 5,583 girls between the ages of 9 to 14 throughout 1996 and 2001.

Findings showed that those who drank more sugary drinks had their period earlier. In fact, having more than one-and-a-half sugary drinks a day in a five year time frame caused some girls to have their period 2.7 months earlier than counterparts who did not drink as much soda. 

"Our findings provide further support for public health efforts to reduce the consumption of sugary drinks," Michels concluded. 

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