At 6 p.m. Friday, Bryan Thompson of Kansas Kids Health.org will be host of a panel of concerned experts at a town meeting at the Topeka Statehouse, Room 313, concerning the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. One of the things that Bryan mentioned in his radio broadcast on KANU this past week was concern about the prevalence of soda pop and its link to the increase of childhood obesity.

Coca Cola, Pepsi and other corporations have aggressively marketed to youths, and one area that concerns me is the extent to which these companies are entering into exclusive contracts with our public schools. I think that the money generated from these contracts that we’ve made is a Faustian bargain with the real price to be paid by our children’s future health problems.

Some relevant facts are appropriate. Americans drink twice as much soda as 25 years ago. According to the Beverage Market Corp., annual consumption of soda was 56.1 gallons of pop per person in 1998. The Center for Science in the Public Interest found that 33 percent of teen boys consume more than three 12-ounce cans per day while 5 percent drink more than five cans per day.

Survey data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is more troubling concerning girls. Significant decline in milk consumption and soda’s tendency to deplete calcium (because of its phosphorus content) is placing young girls at severe risk of osteoporosis later in life. Girls build up 92 percent of their bone mass by age 18, but if they don’t consume enough calcium in their teenage years, they can’t “catch up” later in life. Currently, teenage girls consume only 60 percent of the recommended calcium, with soft-drink users consuming 20 percent less than nonconsumers.

The National Cancer Institute has identified a possible link to obesity, noting that overweight kids took in a higher percentage of calories from soda than their normal-weight peers. The scientific literature is full of red flags concerning ever-increasing consumption of soda pop, Gatorade, corn-syrup-spiked juices (which contain little real fruit juice) and other “nutrient-free” soft drinks.

As a dentist, I’ve observed that dental caries (tooth decay), which we thought was almost eliminated in kids 25 years ago, is making a strong comeback. Considering the decline of milk consumption, the consumption of filtered and bottled water (which contain no fluoride, as tap water does) and the exponential rise in consumption of soda pop, Gatorade and other soft drinks, it’s no wonder that caries is so prevalent among kids. The average can of pop contains 10 teaspoons of sugar. Once consumed, bacteria produce acid in the mouth within 20 minutes. As if that weren’t bad enough, these drinks, which are devoid of nutrients, have a ph of 2.8, which is very acidic. For comparison, battery acid has a ph of 1!

Is ever-increasing availability, marketing schemes and eventual enrichment of these corporations (through their early training of our kids) what we really want for our kids?

Are we willing as community of health professionals, parents, educators and school board members to look the other way and ignore the facts? I hope not.

Patrick Moriarty is a dentist in Lawrence.

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