CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dear Cindy,

My son, 14, and daughter, 11, are active kids but they are both overweight. They play soccer and are not inclined to sit and play video games. Their doctor said they need to watch what they are eating and drinking. I feel I fix healthy meals. They are drinking mostly juices, water and maybe one or two soft drinks a day. When they play soccer, they usually drink sports drinks. Any advice will be appreciated. -- Michelle

Dear Michelle,

Thank you for the question. You have touched on a subject I am passionate about and want every parent and young person to read. Some may not like what I am about to say, but it is important information.

Soft drinks and sugary beverages are making children, adolescents and adults obese. We as parents and consumers have been slowly brainwashed into thinking the juices and drinks, including sports drinks are healthy. Plain and simple, they're not. In fact, they are actually detrimental for many reasons.

For parents, it's difficult to avoid the temptation and cravings of a child. You can't walk into a grocery store, gas station, drugstore or any other retail outlet without seeing sodas, sport drinks and colored beverages piled high. Packaging and slick marketing target children and promise to be healthy and taste good.

Let's examine your children's beverage choices.

100 percent juices: They don't have added sugar, additives and do have some vitamins. Problem is, real juice still has lots of natural sugar and loads of calories. In fact, they have only tiny amounts of real juice. A Harvard School of Public Health study found that for each of these drinks consumed per day it increases the chance of becoming overweight by 60 percent. Let's do some math. If your child is drinking three glasses a day, they have raised their chance of being overweight by 180 percent. Not good odds for sure and definitely hard to counteract with physical activity.

Better choice: Drink water and eat fresh fruit. Fewer calories with more satiety and valuable fiber and nutrients.

Enhanced waters: Adding color, flavors and minuscule amounts of vitamins doesn't make it healthy; it makes it expensive and sweet. Bottom line is, they are nothing more than liquid candy.

Better choice: Drink water and leave the designer waters on the shelf. They are expensive and unworthy.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Dear Cindy,

My son, 14, and daughter, 11, are active kids but they are both overweight. They play soccer and are not inclined to sit and play video games. Their doctor said they need to watch what they are eating and drinking. I feel I fix healthy meals. They are drinking mostly juices, water and maybe one or two soft drinks a day. When they play soccer, they usually drink sports drinks. Any advice will be appreciated. -- Michelle

Dear Michelle,

Thank you for the question. You have touched on a subject I am passionate about and want every parent and young person to read. Some may not like what I am about to say, but it is important information.

Soft drinks and sugary beverages are making children, adolescents and adults obese. We as parents and consumers have been slowly brainwashed into thinking the juices and drinks, including sports drinks are healthy. Plain and simple, they're not. In fact, they are actually detrimental for many reasons.

For parents, it's difficult to avoid the temptation and cravings of a child. You can't walk into a grocery store, gas station, drugstore or any other retail outlet without seeing sodas, sport drinks and colored beverages piled high. Packaging and slick marketing target children and promise to be healthy and taste good.

Let's examine your children's beverage choices.

100 percent juices: They don't have added sugar, additives and do have some vitamins. Problem is, real juice still has lots of natural sugar and loads of calories. In fact, they have only tiny amounts of real juice. A Harvard School of Public Health study found that for each of these drinks consumed per day it increases the chance of becoming overweight by 60 percent. Let's do some math. If your child is drinking three glasses a day, they have raised their chance of being overweight by 180 percent. Not good odds for sure and definitely hard to counteract with physical activity.

Better choice: Drink water and eat fresh fruit. Fewer calories with more satiety and valuable fiber and nutrients.

Enhanced waters: Adding color, flavors and minuscule amounts of vitamins doesn't make it healthy; it makes it expensive and sweet. Bottom line is, they are nothing more than liquid candy.

Better choice: Drink water and leave the designer waters on the shelf. They are expensive and unworthy.

Low-fat or skim milk: Great if they are, as long as the milk hasn't been flavored, colored and sweetened -- an unhealthy attempt to compete with the sweet liquid treats. Of course, it's no surprise that children will choose sweetened milk over regular milk. One of the biggest problems with additives in milk and water is that it teaches children that everything they drink must be sweet. This alters the way they choose beverages for the rest of their lives.

Better choice: Choose low-fat or skim milk to build a strong body.

Sports drinks: Designed to rehydrate endurance athletes and help replace electrolytes lost through sweating. But studies have shown children are drinking these regardless of their activity level. And when they do, they are consuming 90 percent more as compared to water because they have a sweet flavor.

Better choice: Good old H20. Unless you child is involved in intense and prolonged exercise, they do not need these empty calories.

Let's look at some remarkable numbers.

Americans now consume three times more soft drinks than we did 50 years ago. They are the largest source of added sugar in children's diets, and studies show that drinking these empty calories is one of the key reasons we are engulfed in a childhood obesity epidemic.

Related to this, there are five times as many bone fractures in active girls these days. The absence of milk and the addition of sugar make bones more vulnerable. Our children build bone density until their late 20s, so it is essential to provide your body with the necessary nutrients in their formative years.

Over the past 30 years, total calorie intake has increased by an average of 150 to 300 calories per day, and about half of this increase comes from liquid calories or sugar-sweetened beverages.

Countless studies have addressed the correlation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity. There is an obvious and undeniable connection not only with children but also with adults. Researchers examined the billion-dollar market for soft drinks and agree they are the number-one source of added sugars in our diets.

Furthermore, these sweetened beverages are often chosen in lieu of more nutritious foods and beverages. We must realize excess sugar not only makes us fat but also plays a prominent role in the incidence of diabetes, high blood pressure and chronic disease. Water should be your child's primary source of hydration. If you limit sugar and promote physical activity, your children will be ahead of the game.

Cindy Boggs, fitness presenter, author and Activate America director, has been an ACE-certified coordinator/instructor since 1989. Send your questions about fitness, training or health to YMCA of Kanawha Valley, 100 YMCA Drive, Charleston, WV 25311, or e-mail cindys...@aol.com. Look for Cindy's award winning fitness advice book, CindySays ... "You Can Find Health in Your Hectic World" on her Web site www.cindysays.com or contact the YMCA at 340-3527.