It's not just that kids and teenagers are allowed to have a soda, it is that they are literally drinking BUCKETS of soda every day! I am totally convinced to this day that my body was metobolically damaged at a young age by the amount of soda I drank as a kid. We always had a 3 liter bottle of coke on the counter and that was all I ever drank. I was chubby kid and only got thin when I started playing volleyball in high school. I was pretty serious about it, and the coach thought that sugar affected performance, so he told me to stop drink pop. I dropped all my "baby fat" immediately. It was incredible.

BTW, my mom was a little worried that I was chubby, so she bought fat-free cheese, mayo, etc, but decided that coke was okay because it had no fat in it. Sigh.

Now if I drink a coke I practically gag on its sweetness. Really, the only word I can come up with to describe how most Americans consume soft drinks is "vulgar." It is just absolutely disgusting. I was recently in Paris and the people there sat down at cafe and drank a small coke out of glass bottle while have a conversation with a friend. Chances are good, that was the only coke they had that day too. In Texas people go to the gas station, get a huge 44 oz coke and carry it around with them throughout the day. Oh and chances are good that the fridge at home is also stocked with soft drinks.

If someone asked me what the biggest health destroyer is in America, I would instantly answer "soda." I bet if you polled all the fat teenagers you see, you find that they are consuming cokes hand over fist.