This Summer, Take the Soda-Free Challenge

from Healthy City Fall River

On a typical day in the United States, 80% of youth and 63% of adults consume at least one sugar-sweetened beverage. The average person eats almost 100 pounds of sugar a year—that's more than half a cup of sugar and 420 extra calories each day! Sugary sodas are the single biggest source. Teens now consume twice as much soda as milk, though soda has no nutritional value.

Because of these facts, and the rising incidence of overweight children in Fall River, the Healthy City Fall River initiative is launching a Soda-Free Summer Pledge campaign to encourage young people to voluntarily reduce their consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages this summer.

Following educational presentations by public school health and physical education teachers during the week of June 6-10, students will have the opportunity to sign a pledge form in school that will be collected and displayed at Government Center. Pledge forms will also be distributed in the Catholic schools, at summer camp programs and at other youth events throughout the summer. Events designed to encourage drinking water instead of sugary beverages will also take place throughout the summer.

In a similar campaign in California several years ago, 42 percent of randomly polled participants reported consuming less soda and sweetened beverages than the three months prior. More than half of them gave up soda and other sweetened beverages entirely, and 2/3 reported that they reduced their daily soda consumption by 16 ounces or more. The City of Boston launched a similar campaign last year and will repeat it this summer.

In an Harvard School of Public Health statement on the role of sugary drink consumption regarding obesity and diabetes, Professor Walter Willett, M.D. says: “The scientific evidence is now clear; soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are important contributors to obesity in children and adults.” Some examples of calorie-heavy, sugar-sweetened beverages include soda, fruit punch, lemonade, sweetened powdered drinks, as well as sports and energy drinks.

“Kids should be drinking no more than four to eight ounces of 100 percent fruit juice per day,” adds Pamela M. Nisevich, MS, RD, CSSD, LD,. “After meeting their dairy needs, the rest of their fluids should be coming from calorie-free beverages like water,” she adds.
"This same message is important for adults as well, but we're starting this campaign with children who are more likely to learn life-long dietary habits if taught early in life, added David S. Weed, Psy.D., coordinator of the Healthy City Fall River initiative.

So, will YOU take the soda-free challenge today?

For more information about healthy initiatives in Fall River, visit Healthy City's website.