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Health Focus

This section will focus on health related issues, important for the wellbeing of our children. Every cell and every tissue in our body needs nutrition. The quality of our cells and tissues depend on the food we eat, fluids we drink and the air we breathe. After all you are what you eat.

Study finds half of all Aussies obese

Sunday 07 December 2003, 18:03 Makka Time, 15:03 GMT

Fifty-six percent of Australian adults and 27% of children are obese because they eat too much and exercise too little, a study has found.

About nine million Australians over the age of 18 are overweight and childhood obesity rivals North American levels and exceeds those of Britain, the Medical Journal of Australia said on Sunday.

Combined with inactivity and poor nutrition, obesity is responsible for at least 10% of health problems, including heart disease, diabetes and cancers, making the health effects as bad as those of tobacco, the journal said. 

In a separate study, it said Australian women spent a total of A$414 million ($306 million) each year in their quest to slim, with some women spending more than A$3000 annually. 

Reasons

Annual expenditure on commercial weight loss programmes -gyms, fitness equipment, personal trainers, weight loss pills, slimming products and meal replacements - averaged A$441 per woman. 

Yet all their efforts seem to be in vain as obesity rates continue to rise, the journal said. 

Bigger portions, cheaper processed foods, and heavy marketing of takeaway foods and soft drinks are among the factors driving obesity in Australia.

Children's drinks made for the school lunch box. How good are they for kids and how much is too much sugar? Today Tonight chose 10 different drinks, kid's favourites, and had them tested for sugar content to find out how much sugar there is per 100mls of each drink.

 The results per 100 mls:

1)     1)     Cottee's Raspberry Flavoured Cordial, diluted according to instructions, has the LEAST amount of sugar, 7.9 grams per 100 mls. Followed by:

2)           Deep Spring Orange Passionfruit Fruit Drink has 8.1 grams.

3)           Moo Choc Flavoured Milk - 8.3,

4)           Berri Fruits Valencia Orange Splash ... 9 grams.

5)           Junior Popper Tropical Fruit Juice has 9.6, Just Juice Apple Juice 10.4.

Those with the highest sugar levels:

6,7,8)    Prima Apple and Blackcurrant Fruit Drink and Pop Tops Apple Drink with 11 grams each,

9)          9)          Schweppes Lemonade 11.1 

10)         Coca Cola with 11.3 grams per 100 mls has the MOST sugar.

But the greater the quantity of drink, the more sugar. So based on our test results, this is how much sugar the whole portion of each drink actually contains:

1)           125 mls of Junior Popper has the equivalent of 3 teaspoons of sugar,

2,3)        Moo and diluted cordial have 4.

4,5)        Just Juice Apple Juice and Berri Fruits Valencia Orange Splash have 5 and a half

6,7)        Prima Apple and Blackcurrant Fruit Drink and Pop Tops Apple Drink have almost 7 teaspoons of sugar.

8)           A 375 ml can of Deep Spring Fruit Drink has 7-and-a-half teaspoons,

9)           Schweppes Lemonade 10 and a half

10)         390 ml Cola it has 11 teaspoons of sugar.

Nutritionist, Rosemary Stanton says soft drink consumption is on the rise in Australia and that's being linked to increased levels of obesity in children. She says when children drink sweetened drinks they don't compensate by eating less calories from other foods. The sweetened drinks become an extra source of calories and are strongly correlated with excess weight.

Jennifer Williams says her four children crave juices and soft drinks, but she doesn't allow them on a daily basis because it is only going to lead to decay of their teeth. Alot of sugar's obviously not healthy for children let alone adults.

Childrens' dentist, Professor Richard Widmer says the way kids drink, like sucking on the top, contributes to dental decay. Some children with carbonated drinks keep it in the mouth 10 to 15 minutes and swill it around and that does alot of damage. Sometimes a straw is very useful, as it takes the liquid past the teeth

And in weighing up the pros and cons of sugar, Rosemary Stanton's advice is look at the company sugar keeps. "Now milk contains sugar but it comes with calcium and protein and riboflavin. Fruit juices contain sugar quite naturally but it comes with vitamin c and folate and a number of vitamins. If you look at the sugar in soft drinks and cordials it usually comes with no essential nutrients at all."

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