The Glasgow University study asked more than 2,000 people in the UK to estimate how much sugar was in a range of drinks.Yes. We’ve raised a nation unaware that fruit juice is mostly sugar.
While many overestimated the amount in fizzy beverages, they underestimated levels in smoothies and fruit juices.
What, were they all away in biology lessons?
The British Soft Drinks Association says the sugar in soft drinks is not hidden because beverages carry clear labelling of nutritional content, including calorie and sugar content.Oh, you can’t expect people to read things! This is 2012, FFS!
The participants were asked to guess the number of teaspoons of sugar in a range of popular drinks.And why is this a problem?
They underestimated it for pure apple juice and orange juice, a caffeinated energy drink and a smoothie by between two and four teaspoons.
And for a pomegranate-based drink, they underestimated the sugar content by nearly 18 teaspoons.
Unsurprisingly, many participants were not taking the calorie content of their soft drinks into account when thinking about their diet.Now, just what do they mean by ‘diet’ here?
Because if they mean someone who’s watching their weight, then there’s no excuse; several girls (and two blokes) in my office are doing that, and often whip out a little booklet that tells them what’s in what, and there are endless discussions at lunchtime over the calorie count in this or that.
But if they just mean people who are concerned about what they eat, well, then, the answer’s in their own hands, isn’t it? Read the bloody cans!
The team warned that the over-consumption of soft drinks was contributing to obesity and was a major risk factor for conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.Drink water, comrades! No, wait, we’re in a drought! ARGH!
When is someone going to start to look at the risk factors of all these useless, hectoring studies carried out by people who should really be doing something worthwhile with their time instead?
"When is someone going to start to look at the risk factors of all these useless, hectoring studies carried out by people who should really be doing something worthwhile with their time instead? " ..
ReplyDeleteNot to mention a detailed examination of the amount of Taxpayer's hard-earned being squandered on grants for this sort of crap ..
Still, I suppose it and several other "pet" causes serve to divert our attention from the strokes the government are pulling each time they sell us a little further down the river ..
Just as they're intended to do ..
You'll love this one then, JuliaM.
ReplyDeleteThe story of two gallons of coke a day lady, in particular those saying that the coke bottles should have warnings about excessive consumption, made me think of a Darwin award. A girl in her late teens died after sniffing an aerosol can containing insecticide. The same kind of comments came in that the tin should have been more clearly marked. As it was the tin only had a large skull and crossbones with the word poison underneath it.
ReplyDelete"...serve to divert our attention from the strokes the government are pulling each time they sell us a little further down the river .."
ReplyDeleteYup!
"You'll love this one then, JuliaM."
Darwin gets another one, as Stonyground points out!
"Drink water, comrades!" I do. Not quite so easy to find a substitute for bread that's increasingly difficult to distinguish from cake, though.
ReplyDeleteWhilst am in complete agreement with the general principles you hold, the issue with sugar in soft drinks is a different matter. Heres why:
ReplyDeletea) they are consumed primarily by children not adults
b) the 'scientific studies' often say what is already known, yet this is not admitted by the suger producers and the BDSA.
c) I see elements of the tobacco industries PR response when they faced increasing evidence of cancer in the 50's and 60's. 'Smoking is fine in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle' Compares to 'suger is fine in moderation as part of a healthy balanced diet' (BDSA press release). The fact is a unhealthy product cant form part of a healthy balanced diet. Its illogical.
Adults can take an informed decision, when they see the facts that the industry is hiding. Children cant.
Good discussion here:
http://thehealthbank.co.uk/sugar-consumption-common-sense-and-cultural-hegemony/
Good blog btw, Chris