Sugary Beverages Linked to Higher B.M.I. in Young Children It sounds like another page from the files of obvious research: a study published in the journal Pediatrics reveals a link between regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (dubbed S.S.B."s) and higher body mass index scores in 2- to 5-year-olds. Children who regularly drank sugar-sweetened sodas, sports beverages or fruit juice (as opposed to 100 percent fruit juice drinks) had both higher B.M.I."s and "higher weight status" than those who drank them infrequently or not at all. Sounds like an obvious case of consequences, but as with most research, this paper carefully notes a link, not necessarily a cause. In the same study, researchers also found associations between higher B.M.I."s and television watching and failing to drink milk. Does increased television watching lead to more advertising viewed and thus to more S.S.B. consumption, or does the heavier child watch more television? Do the sugar-sweetened beverages squeeze out the milk, or does a refusal to drink milk lead to drinking more sugar-sweetened beverages? It may not much matter, in this case, whether the egg precedes the chicken or vice versa. But as policy makers contemplate writing laws and pushing for change to address the causes of increasing rates of childhood obesity in this country, S.S.B. manufacturers have consistently lobbied against everything from taxes on their product to laws like New York City's attempted ban on large sugary drinks. A lot of money (more than $40 million in 2009, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest) has been expended to convince the public as a whole, and our legislative bodies in particular, that correlation isn't causation on this one. So maybe S.S.B."s actually do cause weight gain, what with their extremely efficient calorie-delivery systems and all. Or maybe they're just innocent bystanders to the misdeeds of sedentary lifestyles and Costco carts full of snack foods. As a parent, I see no reason not to embrace correlation here, and gently slide the sugary drink can from our toddlers" and preschoolers" sticky hands. You know what beverage has never once been linked to excessive weight gain? Water.