Are you drinking your calories? | USA TODAY College

By Matt Rourke, AP

It?s 8 a.m. on Friday morning and you need caffeine. A quick stop at Starbucks for a low fat Caramel Macchiato does the trick. After your workout, you chug a small Razzmatazz Jamba Juice with protein boost. Later that night you have three vodka and Cokes at the bar.

Hydrated? Maybe. But you?ve also consumed almost a days worth of calories through these drinks, based off of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration?s recommended 2,000 calorie diet.

Your morning buzz cost you 240 calories 7g of fat and 31g of sugar. The post-workout smoothie was 290 calories, 1g of fat and 54g of sugar. Finally, three glasses of vodka and Coke set you back 936 calories, 195 g sugar and 0g of fat. Your total caloric intake for the day is 1,466 calories and you haven?t counted one meal yet.

Many college students pump their bodies full of caffeine, sugar and alcohol to make it through their day.

?I think that college doesn?t really allow for kids to live a healthy lifestyle ? so in order to keep up, stay awake, go out all that stuff, people rely on drinks,? said Emily Lowe a junior at University of Oregon.

Lowe works hard to make conscious choices when she drinks anything besides water. Her go-to drink at Starbucks is a tall skinny latte, which is 90 calories. On occasion she gets it with vanilla flavoring for 100 calories.

?Even with things like Jamba Juice, they think it?s healthy, but it?s 400 calories in a drink. That?s a meal ? that?s not a drink. Then they?ll have food thinking that?s not a meal,? said Emily Lowe a junior at University of Oregon.

Sugar alone is not the only culprit in weight gain. Officials with the American Beverage Association criticized studies that point to sugary drinks as a major cause of weight gain. They say that sugar-sweetened beverages make up only 7% of the calories in an average American diet.

It is important to look at the calorie and sugar content of food and beverages which are clearly displayed on all processed food labels, as well as accessible on the Internet.

?With these hidden calories, insulin resistance is increasing among young adults, which can potentially lead to obesity and diabetes. Presently, it is estimated that almost 30% of college students are obese. Both diabetes and obesity are preventable diseases, but action needs to be taken early, which includes making healthy dietary choices and increasing physical activity,? said Dr. Leslie Axelrod a professor at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine.

You might also be interested in:

1. CDC study: Binge drinking prevalent among college-aged students
2. Binge drinking: Unsafe for you AND grandpa
3. After four months in Europe, making sense of the U.S. drinking age
4. FDA to propose nutritional label changes for campus dining
5. How Iowa City didn?t stop underage drinking

The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of USA TODAY.

Source: http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/ccp/are-you-drinking-your-calories

Marissa Mayer Jon Lord weather.com cnn yahoo news foxnews Colorado shootings