Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil
Published on: July 29, 2020
Consumption of soft drinks and hyperactivity, mental distress, and conduct problems among adolescents in Oslo, Norway
Lars Lien1, Nanna Lien, Sonja Heyerdahl
1Section for Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway. lars.lien@medisin.uio.no
Objectives:
We examined whether high levels of consumption of sugar-containing soft drinks were associated with mental distress, hyperactivity, and conduct problems among adolescents.
Methods:
A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted with 10th-grade students in Oslo, Norway (n = 5498). We used the Hopkins Symptom Checklist and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to assess mental health outcomes.
Results:
There was a J-shaped dose-response relationship between soft drink consumption and mental distress, conduct problems, and total mental health difficulties score; that is, adolescents who did not consume soft drinks had higher scores (indicating worse symptoms) than those who consumed soft drinks at moderate levels but lower scores than those with high consumption levels. The relationship was linear for hyperactivity. In a logistic regression model, the association between soft drink consumption and mental health problems remained significant after adjustment for behavioral, social, and food-related variables. The highest adjusted odds ratios were observed for conduct problems among boys and girls who consumed 4 or more glasses of sugar-containing soft drinks per day.
Conclusions:
High consumption levels of sugar-containing soft drinks were associated with mental health problems among adolescents even after adjustment for possible confounders.
More Related Videos
10:02Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Published on: March 12, 2020
05:48The Adventures of Fundi Intervention Based on the Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder Patients
Published on: June 12, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings.
Conduct Disorder
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques IV
Stimulants
Cocaine can be administered via snorting, injection, or smoking. It primarily functions by blocking the reuptake of dopamine, resulting in a euphoric high characterized by an intense sensation of happiness and...
Convenience Sampling Method
Convenience sampling is a non-random method of sample selection; this method selects individuals that are easily accessible and may result in biased data. For example, a marketing...
Bullying