(CNN) A new study sheds light on just how many calories and added sugars children are drinking.

Almost two-thirds of children in the United States consumed at least one sugary beverage on any given day -- and roughly 30% consumed two or more a day -- between 2011 and 2014, according to the study, released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics

On average, drinking two or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day provided more than 10% of the total daily calories among the children, said Asher Rosinger, epidemic intelligence service officer at the CDC and lead author of the study.

"This study is important, because consuming sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with weight gain dental caries (cavities) and dyslipidemia (high cholesterol) in children, all of which have serious negative downstream health consequences," Rosinger said.

He said that the study provides the most recent estimates of the calories children are consuming from sugar-sweetened beverages.

In response, Rachel Hicks, a spokeswoman for the American Beverage Association, issued a statement that said, "America's beverage companies agree that children and adults should be mindful of the calories they consume from sugar."

For the new study, researchers analyzed data on the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among children and adults in the United States from 2011 to 2014. The data came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

The researchers assessed the number of times children and adults drank sugar-sweetened beverages -- such as regular soda, certain fruit drinks, sports and energy drinks, and sweetened coffees and teas -- and then summed the number of calories.

The researchers found that among children, 2 to 19 years old, 64.5% of boys and 61.3% of girls consumed at least one sugar-sweetened beverage on a given day.

JUST WATCHED Sugary drinks and your health Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Sugary drinks and your health 03:41

"This does not mean that all of those children exceeded 10% of their total calories from sugar-sweetened beverages," Rosinger said.

Overall, children consumed an average of 143 calories and 7.3% of their daily energy intake from sugary beverages, the data showed.

The American Heart Association recommended in a study last year that children should consume no more than about 6 teaspoons, or 100 calories, of added sugar a day. The study, published in the journal Circulation , recommended that children should limit their intake of sugary drinks to 8 ounces weekly.

Six teaspoons a day would be less than 10% of daily calories for most children, said Dr. Miriam Vos, an associate professor of pediatrics at Emory University and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, who was lead author of those recommendations.

"Sugar-sweetened beverages are still the top source of added sugars for children in the US and cause unhealthy weight gain," Vos said.

"We still have a long way to go in ensuring health for children by reducing consumption of added sugars," she said.

The new study showed differences among age and ethnic groups.

Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? In the following slides, we compare the amount of sugar found in some of America's top-selling beverages -- according to Beverage Industry magazine's 2013 State of the Industry Report -- to the sugar found in common sugary snacks. Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Soda: Coca-Cola – A 20-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola Classic contains 65 grams of sugar, which is the same amount of sugar found in five Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Soda: Pepsi – A 20-ounce bottle of Pepsi contains 69 grams of sugar. Each Little Debbie Swiss Roll contains an estimated 13 grams of sugar. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Juice: Minute Maid 100% Apple Juice – This 15.2-ounce bottle contains 49 grams of sugar, which is about the amount of sugar in 10 Oreos. Sugar occurs naturally in fruit, but natural sugar isn't any different in chemical structure from what most people refer to as added sugar. The body processes both the same way. One benefit of eating whole fruit is the fiber that helps slow absorption; that fiber is generally lost in the juice-making process. Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Juice: SunnyD Original – A 16-ounce bottle of SunnyD Original contains 28 grams of sugar. Each these six Oreos contains about 4.6 grams of sugar. Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Tea: Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng & Honey – A 23-ounce can of Arizona Green Tea contains 51 grams of sugar, which is about the same as can be found in 20 Hershey's Kisses. The World Health Organization recently proposed new guidelines that recommend consuming less than 5% of our total daily calories from added sugars. For an adult at a normal body mass index, or BMI, 5% would be around 25 grams of sugar -- or six teaspoons. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Tea: Lipton Lemon Iced Tea – There are 32 grams of sugar in this 20-ounce bottle of iced tea. Each of these 12 Hershey's Kisses contains approximately 2.5 grams of sugar. Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Energy drink: Red Bull – Three-quarters of a cup of generic-brand frosted flakes contains about 11 grams of sugar. This 16-ounce can of Red Bull has 52 grams of sugar. Red Bull and many of the companies in this gallery offer lower or no-sugar versions of their drinks. "Nearly half -- 45% -- of all non-alcoholic beverages contain 0% (sugar)," said Christopher Gindlesperger, spokesman for the American Beverage Association. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Energy drink: Monster Energy – This 16-ounce can of Monster Energy has 54 grams of sugar. It contains the same amount of sugar as about 3.5 cups of frosted flakes. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Milk: Generic skim milk – An 8-ounce glass of skim milk has about 11 grams of sugar. A single Starburst candy has 2.7 grams. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Milk: Silk Vanilla Soymilk – A glass of vanilla soymilk has about 8 grams of sugar, which is equal to the amount found in three Starbursts. Hide Caption 11 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Milk: Silk Almond Milk Original – A glass of original almond milk contains 7 grams of sugar. Unsweetened almond milk has 0 grams. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Juice smoothie: Naked Berry Blast – The 15.2-ounce bottle of Naked Berry Blast has 29 grams of sugar. Each of these eight Chips Ahoy! cookies contains about 3.6 grams of sugar.

Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Juice smoothie: Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost – You'd consume 24 grams of sugar by drinking this Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost 15.2-ounce bottle -- or by eating six Chips Ahoy! cookies. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Sports drink: Gatorade Thirst Quencher Cool Blue – This 32-ounce Gatorade bottle has 56 grams of sugar, the same that can be found in approximately five Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Sports drink: Powerade Mountain Berry Blast – Powerade's Mountain Berry Blast also has 56 grams of sugar. Each of these five Reese's cups contains about 11 grams of sugar. Hide Caption 16 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Iced coffee: Starbucks Iced Flavored Latte – A Grande Starbucks Iced Flavored Latte with 2% milk and your choice of syrup has about 28 grams of sugar. The same amount of sugar is in 2.5 Krispy Kreme donuts. Hide Caption 17 of 18 Photos: How much sugar is in that drink? Iced coffee: Dunkin Donuts Iced Caramel Latte – A 16-ounce Dunkin Donuts Iced Caramel Latte has 37 grams of sugar. Each Krispy Kreme donut has about 11 grams of sugar. Hide Caption 18 of 18

Older children, ages 12 to 19, consumed more sugar-sweetened beverages on average than younger children, according to the data.

The researchers also found that non-Hispanic Asian children consumed the least amount of calories from sugar-sweetened beverages on a given day, compared with other groups.

The findings provide "the first nationally representative estimates of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption for non-Hispanic Asian children," Rosinger said.

As for people 20 and older, the researchers found that about half -- 53.6% of men and 45.1% of women -- consumed at least one sugar-sweetened beverage on a given day from 2011 to 2014.

The data showed that, overall, adults consumed an average of 145 calories and 6.5% of their daily energy intake from sugary drinks.

Young adults had the highest mean intake, and non-Hispanic Asian men and women consumed the fewest calories from sugary drinks.

Join the conversation See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.

The American Beverage Association indicated in its statement that it has launched various initiatives in an effort to encourage healthy calorie intakes among Americans.

"We are committed to being part of real solutions to public health challenges with initiatives like Balance Calories , which aims to reduce sugar and calories consumed from beverages across America. We also have voluntarily placed clear calorie labels on the front of every bottle, can and pack we produce. Through our School Beverage Guidelines , we voluntarily removed full-calorie sodas from schools, replacing them with a range of lower-calorie and smaller-portion choices," the statement said.