Your kids are sweet enough – hold those sugary drinks

9 December 2016
Public Health Association of New Zealand

Your kids are sweet enough – hold those sugary drinks

The Public Health Association of New Zealand is right behind the new Consensus Statement on sugary drinks being launched today at Brooklyn School by the New Zealand Dental Association.

Warren Lindberg, Public Health Association CEO, says all New Zealanders should know that children get a quarter of their daily sugar intake from sugary drinks.

“We know there’s a strong association between sugar consumption and both dental caries and obesity. One third of Kiwi children are overweight, and 29,000 children under the age of 14 had teeth removed in 2014/15 due to tooth decay”.

An average can of fizzy drink contains about nine teaspoons of sugar; the WHO recommends a daily maximum intake of nine teaspoons for kids.

The CEO of the Public Health Association, Warren Lindberg, said, “The new Consensus Statement, being launched today, rightly targets the fact that few of us have any idea of how much sugar is contained in our food and drink – and that technical measures in grams per millilitre are not much help for families”.

“There is no longer an argument about the health problems associated with obesity and oral health – especially in children”, says Lindberg. “Sugary drinks which have no health value are an obvious target for change.“

The PHA strongly supports the New Zealand Dental Association’s call for action to reduce harm caused by excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks.

“We value the Dental Association’s leadership on this issues, and we’re proud to be joining with a dozen national organisations to issue this shared call to action.”

ENDS

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