Half of Americans drink soda every day

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For about half of U.S. adults, soda is a daily drink.

A new Gallup poll finds that 48 percent of U.S. adults say they drink at least one glass of soda a day.

The poll is the first from Gallup to measure daily soda consumption.

Among those who drink soda, the average amount consumed is 2.6 glasses a day, the poll found.

Soda consumption was higher among young adults, with 56 percent of 18 to 34 year olds reporting they drink at least one glass of soda per day, compared with 46 percent of people ages 35 to 54.

Soda consumption is known to contribute to obesity and other diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes. However, the poll found no difference between the self-reported weight of those who said they drink two or more glasses of soda daily, compared with those who do not drink soda. About four out of 10 in each group said they are very or somewhat overweight. The poll did not specify what type of soda participants consumed, and it's possible some drank diet soda.

While soda consumption is high, it is not as high as coffee consumption: 64 percent of U.S. adults say they drink at least one cup of coffee daily. This percentage has stayed about the same since 1999, despite the increase in coffee stores and coffee products available to consumers in recent years. It's possible Americans are drinking larger, or stronger cups of coffee now than in the past, the poll researchers said.

The results are based on telephone interviews with a random sample of about 1,000 U.S. adults, conducted between July 9 and 12. The findings are weighed so they are nationally representative.