A new study suggests parents cut out or at least limit the number of sugary drinks their kids consume.

According to Reuters, researchers at Penn State University have found that sweetened beverages like sodas and fruit and sport drinks consumed by girls at age 5 were linked to more body fat during the following 10 years.

The scientists studied a group of 166 white girls between the ages of 5 and 15 by measuring their weight, height and body fat. They found that girls who drank two or more sweetened drinks every day had higher percentages of body fat, weighed more, and were more likely to be overweight than girls who drank lesser amounts of such beverages.

Drinking milk or juices made from 100 percent juice did not affect weight, however.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests that parents and caregivers of young children avoid feeding them artificially sweetened drinks and opt instead for reduced-fat milk or water since higher body fat during the teen years has been tied to long-term weight and health problems like diabetes and heart disease.