Children's soft-drink consumption 'alarming' School-aged children are consuming "alarming levels" of soft drinks, partly because they are readily available at home, a study has found. Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and boys are more likely to be big consumers of soft drinks. The study by the University of Sydney, published in the current issue of Preventive Medicine, found that 24 per cent of the 8058 kids surveyed were drinking an "alarming" five or more cups of soft drink a week. More than a quarter of children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds reported high levels of soft-drink consumption, compared with 19 per cent in high socioeconomic backgrounds.