A group of nutritional scientists said children should be given only water to drink with meals to help tackle the obesity crisis, BBC reported.
The experts said sugary drinks were empty calories and people had got “out of the habit of drinking water” with meals.
The call comes as Public Health England prepares to publish its plans for cutting the nation’s sugar intake.
Advice currently states that no more than 11% of daily calories should come from sugars added by the manufacturer or chef as well as that from honey, syrup and fruit juice. The figure is 10% if alcohol is excluded.
All age groups, particularly children, struggle to meet that target in the UK.
Scientists speaking before Public Health England’s announcement argued there were no easy solutions to tackling obesity.
However, they rounded on sugary drinks.
The World Health Organisation has already set the mood on sugars.
In March, draft guidelines reiterated that sugars should constitute no more than 10% of energy intake and that people and governments should be aiming for 5%.
The limits would apply to all sugars added to food, as well as sugar naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates.
On Thursday, Public Health England will publish plans to help the nation reduce its sugar intake and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition will publish a draft report on carbohydrates and health.
Proposals could include a tax on soft drinks or targeting the sugar intake of children and teenagers.
The chief medical officer for England, Prof Dame Sally Davies, has already argued that “we may need to introduce a sugar tax”.