Drinking water is the best way to quench your thirst. Even better, it doesn’t come with all the sugar found in most fruit, soft, sports, and flavoured mineral waters.
In New South Wales, 55% of boys and almost 40% of girls in year six drink more than one cup of soft drink every day; by year eight, these figures rise to almost 60% of boys and more than 40% of girls. This clearly identifies that our kids are consuming far too many sugary drinks rather than water.
Soft drinks, cordials, sports and energy drinks and flavoured mineral waters often have large amounts of sugar. In fact a can of soft drink contains around 10 teaspoons of sugar.
Drinking too many sweetened drinks can cause a range of problems including tooth decay, poor appetite, picky eating, change of bowel habits and putting on excess weight. These drinks should only be consumed occasionally not every day.
Another caution with sweetened drinks is the stimulant additive-caffeine. Not only do whole-type of soft drinks contain large amounts of sugar, but they also contain caffeine. High amounts of caffeine are found in energy drinks. There are many side effects of caffeine consumption, particularly with children. These include disturbance with sleep, bedwetting, anxiety and headaches from drinking even small quantities. Children's consumption of cola drinks, particularly energy drinks, is best avoided.
