New public health campaign against sugar.

AlabasterVerve · May 8, 2016 11:42PM

Liverpool in drive to name and shame fizzy drink brands
Hard-hitting campaign seeks to cut children’s sugar intake in city with some of UK’s worst rates of obesity and tooth decay

"Sugary drinks can cause tooth decay, obesity and even type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers in the future."

Even though I actually do believe "too much" sugar is harmful (regardless of calories) I do question whether the current research supports these statements. Are good intentions enough for a government sponsored campaign against sugar sweetened beverages?

pebble4321 · May 9, 2016 4:42AM

I don't mind this kind of campaign. They aren't demonising sugar in fruit, regular milk or other foods but they are highlighting the amount in common drinks. I think a lot of people just don't register that the juice or flavoured/sweetened milk or sports drinks they are giving their kids are giving them a whole lot of sugar and calories and not much else in the way of nutrition.

The message is pretty simplistic, I agree that there's certainly more to it than just sugar when it comes to diabetes, heart disease etc, but for this purpose where they want a simple visual message, I don't have a problem with it.
People who want more data and more information can find a more complex message in lots of places.

NewMEEE2016 · May 9, 2016 5:01AM

I think this is a great campaign- EXCEPT that new research says that "low fat" is NOT good- especially for children!

NewMEEE2016 · May 9, 2016 5:03AM

Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.

AJ_G · May 9, 2016 6:57AM

NewMEEE2016 wrote: »

Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.

You don't know what you're talking about lol

tomteboda · May 9, 2016 7:41AM

"Sugary drinks can cause tooth decay"
Rinsing the mouth with water, regular brushing, and flossing can prevent it too.

stevencloser · May 9, 2016 8:48AM

I'm all for children getting proper nutrition so they can grow up properly. But a campaign that outright ließ about what sugar "causes" is just BS.

StealthHealth · May 9, 2016 8:57AM

NewMEEE2016 wrote: »

Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.

nope

EvgeniZyntx · May 9, 2016 9:06AM

"Sugary drinks can cause ... some cancers in the future."

Atrocious English and poor science? Sounds about right for the UK DoH. Liverpool City Council is just following the poor lead.

gothomson · May 9, 2016 9:10AM

Lets be realistic, especially with the huge advertising slush funds these companies have, children will want these drinks. However, a few things are needed: proper funding of the alternatives to sugary drink - and I don't meant artificial ones either - so that they are widely available and affordable. Next let kids have those drinks - but try to moderate the amount they have, then cut back on advertising high sugar drinks. Will that happen? I doubt the soft drinks lobby will allow it.

EvgeniZyntx · May 9, 2016 9:32AM

gothomson wrote: »

Lets be realistic, especially with the huge advertising slush funds these companies have, children will want these drinks. However, a few things are needed: proper funding of the alternatives to sugary drink - and I don't meant artificial ones either - so that they are widely available and affordable.

Water needs funding?

lemurcat12 · May 9, 2016 11:07AM

I'm not opposed to public health efforts against kids getting too many calories/huge amounts of sugar from drinks, even if that's an oversimplification of the issues (and last I saw soda consumption is already going down in the US, don't know about the UK, though). I would prefer that the information be more strictly accurate -- seems to me that would be sufficient.

Scamd83 · May 9, 2016 11:23AM

NewMEEE2016 wrote: »

Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.

This is one of the worst things I've ever read on here. Pseudo-science should be punishable by weight gain.

Packerjohn · May 9, 2016 11:28AM

tomteboda wrote: »

"Sugary drinks can cause tooth decay"
Rinsing the mouth with water, regular brushing, and flossing can prevent it too.

This is true. Now how many people do you know that brush their teeth after drinking a Coke?

Gamliela · May 9, 2016 11:45AM

It occurs to me that parents sometimes buy flavoured milk to get the kid to drink milk at all!

Sugared fruit drink to get at least some fruits into the kid!

Its been ages since I had young people in my home, but when I was little, I know chocolate milk was used that way, my daughter did such for her son, my grandson, so my hope is that naysayers for sugary drinks' know what they are doing demonizing all those things. Who knows what we should do or not do if we can't even find some obvious science to decide, take right actions and feel pretty confident about what we feed the kiddies?

Or is it just one more way to feed fear, raise cortisol, stress and hunger?

ReaderGirl3 · May 9, 2016 11:49AM

Packerjohn wrote: »

tomteboda wrote: »

"Sugary drinks can cause tooth decay"
Rinsing the mouth with water, regular brushing, and flossing can prevent it too.

This is true. Now how many people do you know that brush their teeth after drinking a Coke?

Actually, brushing your teeth right after drinking soda is bad (or after consuming other acidic foods)-

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/21/really-never-brush-your-teeth-immediately-after-a-meal/?_r=0

coreyreichle · May 9, 2016 11:59AM

NewMEEE2016 wrote: »

Oh- and by promoting "sugar free drinks" they are likely to sway parents to give their children ARTIFICIAL sweeteners- which are worse than sugar- some have even been shown to affect brain development.

How are they worse than sugar?

ilex70 · May 9, 2016 12:28PM

It would be a lot better if they swapped "contribute to" for "cause" IMO.

"Cause" is a bit strong.

One would think that if these products could be directly proven to cause said health problems they would be pulled off the market.

Gamliela · May 9, 2016 12:35PM

Really! If soda pop causes diabetes and cancer in kiddies it should be banned to anyone under 18 years of age.

DavPul · May 9, 2016 12:42PM

I don't mind it. I couldn't give a damn how much sugar I nor my children eat, but I do understand how calories work. And a lot of people don't realize how many calories they or their family consumes via the drinks they chose. That includes myself.

As an adult, I used to drink a TON of regular soda or sugary lemonade with my meals. Even when I peeked at the calories of my meal, I somehow didn't think about the 600-1000 calories that I would regular add to a single meal. As a kid, Kool aid and Hi-C and red soda were staples. Switching some consumption over to diet drinks, lower calorie options, or even water (if it's an emergency) has the potential to help the obesity problem. It helped mine.

Demonizing sugar is dumb, but opening up people's eyes to the calories consumed in their drink choices is a net good, IMO.

2011rocket3touring · May 9, 2016 12:54PM

Love it since I'm enjoying the effects of sugar withdrawal. (headaches)

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New public health campaign against sugar.

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