Name :Areej fatima
Topic: “ Role of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Increasing Non communicable Diseases in Pakistan.”
How much sugar is in that?
Sugary sweetened beverages:
These are the beverages in which sugar is added in its original form or in form of other sweeteners like corn syrup, sucrose and concentrates are added. These drinks add no nutrients to our body and they provide empty calories which results in weight gain.
Sugar-sweetened beverages do not fill you up the same way that food does. Those extra calories can lead to other health risks including obesity, tooth decay, heart disease and type 2 diabetes
- 11% of the calories youth consume come from sugar-sweetened beverages.
- 12-ounce soft drink per day consumed by children increases their odds of becoming obese by 60%.
If you want to stay healthy pay attention to what you are drinking. Beware that some drinks claim to be packed with vitamins, antioxidants and other healthful ingredients but they are often loaded with sugar that is hidden
Replace the SSB’s with heathy options:
Choose water or low sweetened beverages instead of sugary drinks or add some freshly squeezed lemon to water.
You can also use low calorie hot chocolate using low fat milk for Healthy treat.
Make this exciting by adding slices of lemons, apples and cucumbers.
Effected age groups:
Children are consuming sugar a lot studies have given data and sugary drinks are a big part of the problem. A report conducted says that children in the U.S. are consuming 17% of calories from added sugars and half of those are from sugary beverages alone. This is well over dietary guidelines that less than 10% of calories should come from sugar.
Adults who are in a hurry and want instant energy also goes for sugary drinks and consume them Abundantly. This causes major health problems and complications in them.
Americans drink 52% of SSB calories at home and 48% of SSB calories away from home
Energy drinks:
Energy drinks have more sugar than soft drinks, lot of caffeine to raise blood pressure and also contains additives whose health effects can prove fatal. So it’s best to skip energy drinks and in then sport beverages are also included. For athletes they are designed to give carbohydrates, electrolytes and water during high intensity workouts but for other peoples they are again just a source of high quantity sugar.
Fruit juices also contains added sugar, phytochemicals and lots of preservatives which are harmful for health.
Why drink sugar when avoid eating it:
When we avoid sugar during eating it in cakes and other sweet items and we know how it badly effects our health then we must keep Children’s aware from young age about the side effects and the harms of sugar we are feeding our body with a glass of sugary drink
Sugar amount in sweetened beverages easily adds up. Drinking one soda a day equals 55 pounds of sugar a year.
Beverages contain a lot of hidden sugar to so people must be educated about the nutritive value of drinks and food items.
Stop sugar-coating the health risk of SUGARY DRINKS:
The consumption of sugary drinks is so common in Adults that they don’t even bother what they are doing to their bodies. Whenever there is any gathering or special occasion the first thing any one offers or asks is what do you want to drink? And majority of people go for soda or packed juices with high sugar content in them.
Regular consumption of sugar sweetened beveragescauses lots of health complications mainly weight gain. And this continues to other medical problems including diabetes , coronary heart disease and even liver problems.
But the main factor that leads to all this problems is one thing that is pretty simple: extra calories.
Sugary drinks effect on health:
When we studies about the health benefits of beverages, sugary drinks falls at the bottom of list mainly because of no nutrients and a lot of calories. They are harmful to body because it effects as it absorbs sugar in liquid more fast than solid as a result cannot easily process andrelease it. The extra sugar is then stored in liver as glycogen deposits or fats. It then causes fatty liver disease and increases risk of diabetes and other NCDs.
In a general of nutrition there was a study that says” more sugar intake increases heart problems”. And it effects children more. When more sugar is taken it leads to more fat
accumulation which in result causes heart problems.
. In a general of nutrition there was a study that says “more sugar intake increases heart problems”. And it effects children more. When more sugar is taken it leads to more fat accumulation which in result causes heart problems.
Addiction of sugar:
There are also mental side effects of drinking sugary drinks as we get used to them and when our daily sugar consumption is changed it causes problems
These drinks contain sweeteners which helps in releasing dopamine that creates an addictive effect which can prove difficult to break
According to a study in the journal Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, scientists found out that foods and drinks as soda, coffee, juices and others have a great chance of causing sugar addiction.Which then leads to obesity and other health complications. Theses addictions are strong and to break them mental health professionals have to do a proper counselling session.
Risk of pancreatic cancer: According to a study from the Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, over consumption of soft drinks can cause increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer in the study’s test group.
There is burden at pancreas when we overloads it with excess of sugar and it tries to process it.
Soda increase diabetes risk:
When there is high level of sugar taken through soda it effects the pancreas with stress and insulin secretion is effected. Drinking 2 sugary drinks per day will increase your risk for type 2 diabetes 25%.
In a study it was found that drinking artificially sweetened beverages instead of sugary drinks will not decrease the risk of diabetes however by replacing one serving daily of sugary drink with water or tea was associated with lowered risk of diabetes.
With increased consumption of artificially sweet beverage by 4 ounces of more per day over 4 years was related with 18% higher diabetes risk
In 2019 a study was made by looking at 22 to 26 years worth of data from three long term studies (the Nurses, Healthystudy, the Nurses’ Healthy Study||, and the health Professionals ‘Follow–up study) in which more than 192,000 men and women were participating. They found that by increasing sugary beverage intake of both 100% fruit juice and sugar sweetenedbeverages, with more than 4 ounces per day for four year period was associated with a 16% high risk of type 2 diabetes in the following years
Liver disease:
Consumption of more sugary drinks puts stress on liver which effects it’s functioning.
According to an article published through the Journal of Herpetology, increased consumption of sugar in corn syrup form has a direct relation in rising rates of liver disease and failure.
Strategies to get rid of sugary drinks:
First of all, awareness of public about the harms and side effects of sugary beverages are really important at all levels from schools to household. A number of ways can be used to get rid of this dangerous habit.
Healthy options:
We can encourage the use of healthy beverages instead of sugary drinks in gatherings, meetings, school and classroom’s which may include water, tea and coffee.
Restrict marketing:
Restrict marketing of sugary drinks on television in schools and campus and support national regulations in that.
Taxation policies:
A stimulation model details how different type of taxing strategies on sodas and other sugary drinks can effects the health gains linked to heart attacks, strokes and diabetes while also lowering health care costs inUS. (Source: American Heart Association)
Reduce Diabetes burden:
To reduce the burden of diabetes in population and to prevent it International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has urged authorities to double taxes on sugar sweetened beverages (SSB’s).
And when there are increased taxes in SSB’s then people can invest their money and buy more healthy options which are less expensive and also provide them with benefits.
We support the request of the Diabetics Association of Pakistan to increase duty on SSB’s to 20% and broaden this category beyond what’s the current definition and include juices, energy drinks, flavoured milk, iced tea and other drinks with added sugar.
Pakistan National Heart Association:
Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) requested to impose 20% tax on sugar sweetened beverages .This request was made to the government because of the high consumption which was causing obesity and other health problems.
Wellness policy:
Try to implement a wellness policy in your world area which encourages workers to replace sugary drinks with healthy drinks.
In late January 2014, Get Healthy San Mateo County launched a Choose Healthy Drinks awareness campaign. The campaign focuses on South San Francisco, San Bruno and Daly City . The three San Mateo County cities with the highest rates of obesity at 47%, 43%, and 39% respectively.
Prohibit the sale:
Within the certain range of schools the sale of sugary beverages must me prohibited. Also keep a check in areas where children mostly go like parks.
Rethink your Drink:
Partners with supermarkets and encourage them to raise awareness by promoting banners of rethink before you drink. So people can think about what they are drinking and feeding into their bodies.
Eliminate SSB’s from kids meals:
In kids meals sugary drinks must be avoided as much as possible as they can cause harms at a lot of levels from tooth decay to obesity and other diseases like heart problems, diabetes.
Display of drinks in shops:
In different grocery stores and markets sugary drinks must not be promoted by placing on front. Instead Healthy options like water and tea can be displayed in front so that the people attention can be diverted to a healthy option instead of sugar beverages.
Mortality rate:
Early risk of cancer was also detected in people with more SSB’s consumption. Major causes of death world wide was obesity which is mainly linked with sugar consumption in high amount.
Conclusion:
Sugary drinks can cause real health problems which can also lead to death of individuals. Increasing the price of sugary drinks in restaurants, stores and recreational centres can help in controlling the consumption. Having healthier beverages be the standard drinks offered on children’s menus in restaurants. Promoting healthier beverages in grocery stores and raising awareness can also help a lot in saving life’s.
Raising tax on sugary drinks is effective intervention to reduce the consumption and save lives.
What do you think about this discussion?
Can we survive without sugar?
References:
Hu FB, Malik VS. Sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes: epidemiologic evidence. Physiology &behavior. 2010 Apr 26;100(1):47-54.
National Cancer Institute. Sources of Calories from Added Sugars among the US population, 2005-2006. Risk Factor Monitoring and Methods Branch Web site. Applied Research Program. Mean intake of added sugars & percentage contribution of various foods among US population. http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/diet/foodsources/added_sugars/.
Bea W. Need for Specific Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Lessons for Fourth- and Fifth-Graders. J NutrEducBehav. 2015;47:36-43.
NCD Risk Factor Collaboration. Trends in adult body-mass index in 200 countries from 1975 to 2014: A pooled analysis of 1698 population-based measurement studies with 19.2 million participants. The Lancet. 2016; 387(10026): 1377-96.
Malik VS, Willett WC, Hu FB. Global obesity: trends, risk factors and policy implications. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2013 Jan;9(1):13.
CDC Podcast: Sugary Drinks; Curb the Colas
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2019/03/21/peds.2019-0282