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High sugar drink brands
named in drive to beat tooth decay
PUBLIC health officials in Liverpool
are the 1st in the country to inform parents about the amount of sugar in
popular brands of soft drinks.
A high profile campaign titled:- "Is your child's sweet tooth harming
their health?" outlines how many sugar cubes are in drinks such as Lucozade, Coca
Cola, Tropicana, Capri-Sun and Ribena.
Large, eye catching cut out boards of bottles highlighting how many sugar cubes
is in each drink are being placed in areas of high footfall and buildings such
as children's centres, doctors surgeries / health centres and Hospitals.
The drive is aimed at tackling an alarming level of tooth decay in young
children in the City, with dentists having to remove teeth from children as
young as 5 under general anaesthetic on a daily basis. Around 2,000 children
in the City will have had extractions by the age of 5, and more than a third
will have suffered from tooth decay.
It is estimated the average child consumes more than their body weight in sugar
every single year; a total of 5,543 cubes, more than 3 times the recommended
amount.
Councillor Tim Beaumont, Mayoral lead for wellbeing, said:- "Through no
fault of their own, families simply don't realise how much sugar is in some of
these drinks. As well as leading to poor dental health, it is contributing to
the obesity issue in Liverpool which means that one in four children starting
primary school are overweight, rising to 38 percent for secondary school age
pupils. What we're trying to do through this campaign is get the message across
that even drinks which are marketed as healthy such as orange juice and
flavoured water have large amounts of sugar in them. This is about getting
families and young children into healthy habits which will hopefully last a
lifetime and prevent future unnecessary pain and trauma."
The campaign highlights that 500ml of Lucozade contains 15.5 cubes (64 grams) of
sugar while an equivalent bottle of Coca-Cola has 13.5 cubes (54 grams);
against a maximum daily allowance of 5 to 7 cubes for children depending upon
their age.
Even healthier options such as Tropicana orange juice have 7.5 sugar cubes (30
grams) in a 300ml bottle.
Director of Public Health, Dr Sandra Davies, said:- "We are the first
local authority in the country to name how much sugar is in specific brands
because we feel it is really important that all parents have the facts they need
when making decisions about which drinks to give their children. Many of us are
not in the habit of studying labels on drinks and the evidence that we have is
that people don't realise how much sugar is in them, so we are taking steps to
support them to make healthier choices. Our advice to parents is to take their
child to the dentist by the age of one and teach them to brush their teeth
correctly from an early age. There is also a wealth of information online in the
Change4life campaign."
Parents are being urged to swap their children to water, low fat milk and sugar
free drinks to give them a healthier start in life and stop them getting into a
habit which could cause obesity and lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease and
some cancers later in life.
Sondos Albadri, Reader and Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at the University
of Liverpool, said:- "There is a myth that baby teeth are not important,
but the fact is that they are vital as they help guide adult teeth into
position. Persistent infections can be detrimental to the child general health
and early loss of baby teeth can also lead to problems with adult teeth later in
life. The problem with tooth decay in Liverpool isn't only confined to younger
children and we are increasingly seeing children aged between 12 and 16 at the
Dental Hospital. I had to remove 15 adult teeth on a 14 year old recently,
and while that is an extreme case it is by no means a rare occurrence. All of
this is largely preventable by reducing sugar intake and keeping teeth clean by
brushing twice a day."
More facts about sugar and how people can cut back are available by at the NHS
website:-
Change4Life
or download the sugar smart app on the iTunes app store or
Google play.
FACT FILE - THE NUMBER OF SUGAR CUBES IN POPULAR DRINKS:-
► 15.5 - Lucozade (500ml).
► 13.5 - Coca Cola (500ml).
► 12.7 – Frijj chocolate milkshake (471ml).
► 8.25 - Capri-Sun (330ml).
► 7.5 - Tropicana orange juice (300ml).
► 7.25 – Ribena (288ml).
► 5.75 - Volvic flavoured water (500ml).
► 0 - tap water.
Each cube = 4g of sugar.
TOP TIPS FOR PARENTS:-
► Keep sugary drinks and treats to mealtime only.
► Encourage your child to drink only water and milk between meals.
► Always check labels for sugar content.
► Get your child to brush their teeth twice a day.
► Take your child to the dentist at least from the age of 1.
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