Soda has already gotten a bad rap for being unhealthy and contributing to child obesity. Adding more fuel to the fire is a new study suggesting that the sugary drinks are also associated with behavioral problems in young children, including aggression, inattention and withdrawal.  

Aggressive behaviors like destroying other people’s belongings, getting into fights and physically attacking people increase as a child’s servings of soda increase per day, researchers from Columbia University, the University of Vermont and the Harvard School of Public Health found. Inattention and withdrawal also appear to be more common in children who drink increasing amounts of soda. These findings, among others, were recently published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

The study indicates that children’s behavioral problems are linked to the number of soda servings they consume per day. And the influence of soda consumption remains strong even after adjustments for other factors linked to behavioral problems, such as demographics, maternal depression and TV watching.

With kids already back or soon going back to school, issues like escalated aggression, inattention and withdrawal are not what we want our children experiencing in the classroom. Although the authors of the study are not exactly sure why soda links to problem behaviors, limiting our kids soda consumption—and switching to  water or more nutritious beverages—may be a part of helping them behave better.