By Carole Kerr
You've probably all heard the ads - they're everywhere at the moment - you know the ones telling you to put down the soft drink and the sports drinks and opt for a much healthier, less sugary way to quench your thirst.
Chances are that many of you will be heeding the warning already, well aware that many of these drinks are not that good for you and certainly not good for your kids.
Just recently in Victoria, key health promotion groups called for the state government to ban the sale of soft drink from hospitals, schools and community sport centres.
- In Western Australia, the WA Health Department's LiveLighter campaign has been actively working to educate parents on the hidden dangers of sugary drinks.
You just need to look at the facts and figures from their website to see how unhealthy some of these beverages really are:
- A 600ml bottle of regular soft drink contains around 16 teaspoons of sugar
- A 600 ml sports drink contains around 9-11 teaspoons of sugar
- A 600ml flavoured milk drink contains around 13 teaspoons of sugar
- A 600 ml sweetened fruit drink contains around 16 teaspoons of sugar
The impact of sugary drinks on our health and the health of our children is the subject of much debate and also much research. At The Kids, many of our studies have uncovered significant health risks associated with both high sugar drinks and energy drinks.
One study showed that around 80 % of Australian children drank sugary drinks, including soft drink, energy drinks, juices with added sugar, cordial, sports drinks, milkshakes and flavoured milk.
It also found that 77% of these drinks were purchased in supermarkets and 60% were consumed at home, suggesting parents have a key role to play in moderating their child's sugar intake.
Study author Kate Hafekost says the research not only revealed a high intake of sugary drinks in Aussie kids but also some interesting habits as well.
"Older kids leaned towards more of the soft drink and sports drinks, while young children in particular were consuming high quantities of sweetened juice and flavoured milk which many parents don't realise have very high sugar content." said Ms Hafekost.
"Whatever the choice, parents need to be aware that high intake of these drinks contribute to both obesity rates as well as nutrition-related chronic disease."
In fact, recent research from the long-term Raine study at The Kids showed teenagers who drank more than one standard can of sugary drinks a day are putting themselves at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease or stroke later in life.
The study found that teenagers who drank around a can of soft drink a day had lower levels of 'good cholesterol' and higher levels of the 'bad' triglyceride form of fat in their blood.
Another similar study from The Kids also showed that sugary drinks have a role to play in the increased risk of liver disease in teenagers.
The research headed by leader of nutrition studies Professor Wendy Oddy, and also using Raine Study data, looked at the dietary patterns and liver ultrasounds of almost 1000 teens and found a Western style diet was associated with an increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at 17 years of age.
Professor Oddy says the research "found a specific association between the high intake of sugary soft drinks and NAFLD, likely to be due to the large amounts of sugars such as fructose."
Professor Oddy said this study showed that greater intake of sugary drinks could put young people on a path to the early development of serious health problems and that water is always the better option for young children and adolescents.
The health concerns also extend to the ever-popular energy drinks with a study just released from The Kids showing a significant link between the consumption of energy drinks and anxiety levels in young men.
The research, headed by Dr Georgina Trapp, looked at the energy drink consumption of more than 1000 young adults from the Raine study.
"What this study showed us is that drinking one 250ml can or more a day of energy drinks is associated with increased anxiety and the association got stronger as energy drink consumption increased." said Dr Trapp.
"This was most prevalent amongst young men and suggests a link between energy drinks and the potential risk factor for mental health problems in this group."