{"id":288931,"date":"2026-02-17T22:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/288931\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T22:27:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:27:09","slug":"sugary-drinks-linked-to-anxiety-in-young-people-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/288931\/","title":{"rendered":"Sugary drinks linked to anxiety in young people, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n A new study involving researchers from Bournemouth University has identified a connection between high-sugar beverages and anxiety symptoms in young people, highlighting a potential mental health impact beyond well-known physical effects.\n<\/p>\n

\n The study was led by former Bournemouth University PhD student, Dr Karim Khaled, who now works at Lebanese American University, Beirut.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n The study conducted by Bournemouth University found an association between consumption of drinks containing a high amount of sugar and anxiety symptoms in adolescents. (Image: PA Wire)\n<\/p>\n

\n Dr Chloe Casey, lecturer in nutrition and co-author of the study, said: “With increasing concern about adolescent nutrition, most public health initiatives have emphasised the physical consequences of poor dietary habits, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.\n<\/p>\n

\n “However, the mental health implications of diet have been underexplored by comparison, particularly for drinks that are energy-dense but low in nutrients.”\n<\/p>\n

\n Published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics<\/a>, the study reviewed findings from multiple investigations into adolescent diets and mental health.\n<\/p>\n

\n It consistently found an association between high consumption of sugary drinks and anxiety symptoms.\n<\/p>\n

\n However, researchers cautioned that the studies do not prove causation and that anxiety may also lead to increased consumption of sugary beverages.\n<\/p>\n

\n Dr Casey said: “This study has identified an unhealthy connection between consumption of sugary drinks and anxiety disorders in young people.\n<\/p>\n

\n “Anxiety disorders in adolescence have risen sharply in recent years so it is important to identify lifestyle habits which can be changed to reduce the risk of this trend continuing.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new study involving researchers from Bournemouth University has identified a connection between high-sugar beverages and anxiety symptoms…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134,111,139,556,69],"class_list":["post-288931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nutrition","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=288931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/288931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/288932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=288931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=288931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=288931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}