This year’s Nutrition Week theme is all about increasing water consumption. Water – Tap into it! aims to decrease sugary drink consumption particularly in Australian adolescents.
According to Nutrition Australia the consumption of sugary drinks in place of water has risen considerably in recent years. Soft drinks, cordials, energy/sports drinks, fruit drinks and flavoured waters often contain large amounts of sugar and energy (kilojoules). A regular can of soft drink can contain around 8 teaspoons of sugar!
Much of the evidence Nutrition Australia says, shows a link between sugary drink consumption and weight gain and obesity in adolescents. Having too much sugar in the diet can contribute to overweight and obesity and tooth decay. Some high sugar drinks are also high in caffeine (e.g. energy drinks), and due to their addictive nature these products are not recommended for children.
As many of you may also know I am not a fan of diet drinks either. There are huge question marks over the safety of artificial sweeteners. Reducing our consumption of sugar and diet drinks is so important for our overall health.
In the Nutrition Week Kit (available here), Nutrition Australia has put together this fantastic chart showing just how much our portion sizes have changed when it comes to drink sizes. I don’t know about you but I couldn’t believe it!! Drinking 3.8L is totally unbelievable!?
What do you think? Have we completely lost the plot with all of this super-sizing???
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