Sweets and sugar-sweetened soft drink intake in childhood in relation to adult BMI and overweight. The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations of BMI and overweight in adulthood with consumption of sweets and sugar-sweetened soft drinks in childhood and with the change in consumption between childhood and adulthood.

DESIGN: Longitudinal 21-year follow-up study of Finnish children and adolescents from childhood to adulthood.

SETTING: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, comprising participants from both eastern and western Finland.

SUBJECTS: Boys (n 967) and girls (n 1172) aged 3-18 years at baseline in 1980.

RESULTS: The increase in consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks from childhood to adulthood was directly associated with BMI in adulthood in women (b = 0.45, P = 0.0001) but not in men. In women, BMI increased by 0.45 kg/m2 for every 10-unit increase per month. Consumption of sweets and sugar-sweetened soft drinks in childhood and adolescence was not associated with BMI in adulthood. The change in consumption of sweets was not associated with BMI in adulthood. The increase in the consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks from childhood to adulthood was associated with being overweight (OR = 1.90, 95 % CI 1.38, 2.61) in women, but not in men. No association was found between overweight (BMI >or= 25 kg/m2) in adulthood and consumption of sweets in childhood or the change in consumption from childhood to adulthood.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that direct associations exist between adulthood overweight and BMI and an increase in consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks in women. Thus sugar-sweetened soft drinks consumption may be important when considering weight management in women.