‘We’re part of the problem’

The soft drinks industry is worried about the state of our health, says Beverage Council chairman Olly Munro .He explains what they’re doing about it.

New Zealand, let’s be honest. Too many of us are fat. Worse, many of our kids are consuming too many calories and not getting enough exercise.

You might be surprised to hear that from the association representing sugarsweetened drinks manufacturers, but these are the facts and they are undeniable.

More complicated is what do we do about it? There is no simple answer.

Sugar taxes are designed to reduce consumption. Proponents therefore cannot argue that the tax should be used to provide long-term funding to the health system.

Taxing drinks unfairly targets a single industry when a wide-range of other food products, such as breakfast cereals, breads, jams, chocolate and other confectionery, contain large amounts of added sugar.

It also ignores the growing international evidence that these taxes do not improve health outcomes – with consumers willingly paying more or switching to budget brands or other sweet treats.

They demonise loving parents who give their child a treat, making outrageous claims comparing sugar with tobacco.

And, most importantly, they ignore the fact that while obesity remains a pressing issue in New Zealand, the consumption of both sugar and sugarsweetened soft drinks remains a small part of our diet and continues to fall.

Government data shows that just 5 per cent of a Kiwi adult’s calories come from non-alcoholic beverages, with the majority of calories coming from breads, biscuits and other foods.

Since 2010, fizzy drink consumption has fallen by 4.2 per cent, while sales of low and no-sugar non-alcoholic beverages have grown by over two-thirds over the past decade.

And overall we’re consuming less sugar – between 1997 and 2009, the median daily sugar intake for New Zealand males fell from 62 to 55 grams, while the male obesity rate climbed from 17 to 27.7 per cent. A smaller but similar trend was also seen in females.

The reality is that the causes of obesity, especially in children, are complicated and wide-ranging.

But a lack of physical activity, poverty, environmental factors, eating too much energy-dense processed foods, parental health and genetic predisposition all contribute to obesity rates in New Zealand.

We do understand that we are part of the problem. Yes, drinking too many sugar-laden drinks causes you to gain weight, and some children are drinking too many of them.

So, what are we doing?

We are reformulating drinks to reduce sugar.

We are launching a wider range of low and no-sugar drinks, which we are heavily promoting. We are reducing pack sizes.

We want our kids to be healthy. Our members only directly sell water to primary and intermediate schools, and we do not directly sell sugar-sweetened carbonated soft drinks and energy drinks to any secondary school.

We do not advertise in media that targets children under-14, and we have committed to not designing advertising that significantly appeals to children aged under 14.

But we also strongly back New Zealanders’ right to choose. We understand this means they need to have access to the right information at the right time.

That’s why we support the Government’s voluntary Health Star Rating system, showcasing the system’s Integrated Energy Icon on front-of-pack labelling to provide consumers with easy-to-understand information.

We will also continue to advocate education and nutritional literacy from an early age as key to changing the obesity trend in New Zealand.

After all, like you, we want the children of New Zealand to grow up healthy, happy and active.