Soft drinks, aggression and suicidal behaviour in US high school students.

Consumption of carbonated soft drinks has been rising among teens, and recent research has identified potential links to violence, depression, suicidal thoughts and suicidal behaviour. We analyse a national data-set, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, to examine the relationship between soft drink consumption and aggression, depression and suicidal behaviours among US adolescents. We find that higher soft drink consumption is associated with a range of undesirable behaviours: being in a physical fight, feeling sad or hopeless and having suicidal thoughts and actions. The data display a 'dose-response' relationship, with the percentage engaged in aggression or suicidal behaviour increasing steadily with greater quantities of soft drinks consumed. While further research is needed to determine if the association is causal, soft drink consumption may be a useful indicator for both aggression and suicidal behaviours among American high school students.