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Heath unit targeting risks of sugar in soft drinks

April 9, 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Tabitha Wells – As the issue of conquering obesity and encouraging Canadians to be healthier continues to gain popularity amongst government and health organizations, tackling the root causes is taking place. Regulations set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Health Canada are being looked at to help decrease the potential harmful products in the market, especially to children.

While it comes as no surprise that pop is not a healthy beverage option, what most people may not know is that one can exceeds the WHO’s recommendations for an adult’s daily intake of sugar.

According to Doreen Henderson, a Public Health Nutritionist with Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health (WDGPH), more education is needed to help people make healthier beverage choices.

“A lot of people underestimate how much sugar is in a beverage,” she said. “One in every five calories Canadians consume is from sugar. People often use sugar-sweetened beverages in place of healthier beverages like milk and water, so there’s a negative effect on nutrients.”

She added that this is why it’s extremely important for people to read the labels on everything they consume. Four grams of sugar is the equivalent to one teaspoon of sugar, meaning there are 10 teaspoons of sugar per can of pop – increasing if it’s a bottle or ‘tallboy’ can.

“Sugar drinks are the number one source of sugar for 9-18 year olds in Canada,” said Ms. Henderson. “Children in Canada start consuming sugar sweetened beverages at a younger age, and consumption increases as they move into adolescence, peaking at about 14-18 years. The stats are quite concerning.”

WDGPH has also posted recommendations for 100 percent juice beverages consumed by children. Parents are recommended to limit children’s juice consumption to one or one and a half cups per day, and even less with children under the age of five as it is not as nutritious as whole fruit.

Part of the solution to the problem comes from the promotion of water as a thirst-quenching beverage over the typical sodas and sugar-sweetened beverages provided in most recreational and public facilities.

“There is a great deal of marketing associated with the beverage industry and the tactics of the sugar industry seem to be similar to that of the tobacco industry,” explained Ms. Henderson. “We need to take a step back and look at water as a way of quenching thirst.”

In 2012, WDGPH did a campaign in the schools to encourage students to drink more water.

The campaign was called ‘Rethink Your Drink’ and included posters informing students to look at the amount of sugar in regular drinks they consumed. For example, one bottle of pop has the same amount of sugar as 20 chocolate chip cookies, and an iced tea has the same amount of sugar as three slices of cherry pie.

“The next step would be to see Health Canada take another look at sugar recommendations and explore policy options to regulate what is available,” said Ms. Henderson.

“Pop machines and pop sales were removed from schools as of 2011. The next step that I would like to see is removal from recreation centres. Not just pop, but sugar sweetened drinks as well.”

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