A new study has suggested that Ireland's young people are putting their health at risby drinking sugar-sweetened drinks.
The research for the Institute of Public Health found half of Irish 13-year-olds had drunk a sugary drink in the past 24 hours.
Over a third of Irish people aged 15 to 24 drank sugar-sweetened drinks almost every day.
With Ireland on track to be Europe's most overweight country, public health expert Dr Noelle Cotter said that we need to reduce our consumption.
"Overweight and obesity will impact on almost every organ in the body, and can lead to an increased Body Mass Index, will increase the prevalence of certain types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension and heart problems, just to name but a few," she said.