Sugar consumption by teens ‘shocking’

TEENAGERS are drinking the equivalent of almost a bath full of sugary drinks every year, according to “shocking” figures released by a charity.

Calculations from Cancer Research UK show that youngsters aged between 11 and 18 drink 234 cans of soft drink a year — or one bathtub full.

Even toddlers aged between one-anda-half and three drink the equivalent of 1.34 cans of fizzy drink every week — around 69 a year, the analysis showed.

Meanwhile, those aged four to 10 drink 110 cans of fizzy drink per year on average — almost half a bathtub.

Overall, adults and young children consume twice the maximum recommended amount of added sugar on average, and 11 to 18-year-olds eat and drink three times the recommended limit, with sugary drinks being their main source of added sugar.

Obese children are around five times more likely to grow into obese adults, and carrying too much weight increases the risk of cancer as well as other diseases, the charity warns.

Earlier this year, the UK Government announced it will introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks with added sugar. Cancer Research UK welcomed the levy but said the measure did not go far enough.

Professor Linda Bauld, the charity’s cancer prevention expert, based at the University of Stirling, said: “It’s shocking that teenagers are drinking the equivalent of a bathtub of sugary drinks a year.

“Scotland is already sucking up the high cost of obesity and, unless action is taken, society and our health services will drown under the weight of this UK epidemic.

“We know that Scots have a bigger thirst for fizzy drinks, with households spending a quarter more than other UK nations on soft drinks.

“And the nation has one of the heaviest populations in Europe, with two in three adults in Scotland overweight or obese.”

Restricting advertising of unhealthy food and drinks and action towards fewer supermarket multi-buy discounts are among a range of measures the charity wants to see at the heart of Scottish Government plans to improve diets.

Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said: “We have announced our intention to set out and consult on the development of our new diet and obesity strategy in 2017, building on our wide range of activity to make it easier for people — including children and their families — to be more active, eat less and eat better.”

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