A hard
drink is one that contains alcohol. The advantages and disadvantages of
drinking hard drinks are well known.
A soft drink
doesn’t contain alcohol. A soft drink is
promoted as a glass of happiness. A nice, happy and joyful drink.
They are actually
nasty, evil and harmful.
In our
community they cause about as much pain and suffering as tobacco. Tobacco is often
considered the largest preventable cause of death and disease in our society.
Some experts disagree and say obesity costs the community more than tobacco. Others
still see tobacco as the main miscreant.
It is
indisputable that, in our society, tobacco and obesity are the two major
preventable causes of disease. With both
tobacco and obesity there are large social and economic costs to individuals
and the community. The government taxes tobacco, promotes smoking cessation and
regulates smoking advertising. The government sees tobacco as unmistakably
nefarious and bad.
While
tobacco is often seen as the black hooded Darth Vader, sugar has snuck under
our guard. It has gone along pretending happiness while spreading misery. At least tobacco doesn’t pretend.
According
to the NHMRC in 2012 around 60% of Australians were overweight or obese. 25% were obese. These figures are increasing.
Obesity has been associated with heart disease,
hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, stroke and many types of cancer.
Heart
disease, a stroke or diabetes are not a normal part of life. They will shorten
your life. You will spend time in hospital with concomitant pain and suffering.
When in hospital your family will be stressed and anxious about your
future. You will add to the crowd in ED.
When obese
you will look fat which means you will have less pride in yourself and more
emotional problems. You will be less able to play sport or be physically active
in our society.
You will
have more days off sick and finish work at an earlier age. You will be less
productive.
An obese community
will have a less productive workforce generating less money. It will spend more
on health care and less on schools, roads and police.
Soft drinks
are one of the major causes of obesity. They contain empty, added sugars. There
is absolutely no health benefit in consuming such sugars.
Studies
have shown obese people drink more soft drink. People who sit around drinking
soft drinks are more likely to be obese, do less exercise and have unhealthy
lifestyle.
When working
as a dentist people with rampant decay were present. Often I would ask a few
questions to find out why so many holes. The answer would often be soft drinks.
When I saw someone with rampant decay and a soft drink habit I had something to
work with. If they then took my advice I would see dramatic and immediate
improvements in their oral health.
Soft drinks
cause holes in teeth. Different soft drinks contain different carbohydrates. All
the carbohydrates feed oral bacteria which produce acids which dissolves the
hard tissue of teeth. This is called dental caries.
Soft drinks
also cause dental erosion. Many soft drinks are acidic. The acids erode away
tooth substance. This erosion is
different from decay but leads to irreversible loss of hard tooth materials.
Soft drinks
also decrease bone density. Many studies have shown decreased bone density in
regular high drinkers of soft drinks who are also often low drinkers of milk.
Soft drinks
also cause kidney stones. Regular consumption of soft drink is associated with
increased risk of developing kidney stones.
The average
can of soft drink, energy drink or fruit juice contains 128-160 calories; 32-40
gm of sugar; 8-10 teaspoons of sugar.
One
recommended daily intake is:
For a male:
2,500
calories per day with 150 calories 37.5 gm 9 teaspoons coming from added sugar.
For a
female:
2000
calories per day with 100 calories 25 gm 6 tsp coming from added sugar
Experts can
argue about what is the largest preventable cause of death and diseases. What
has the largest social and economic cost?
Tobacco or obesity.
Tobacco and
obesity both precipitate a lot of death and disease. Both result in a large cost to individuals
and our community. The government taxes tobacco in order to discourage tobacco
use and to help pay for resulting health costs. It is time for the government
to also discourage the eating of sugar.
It is time
for the government to ban advertising and sponsorship of soft drinks during
sport events.
It is also time
the government promoted healthy nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention.
Taxing soft
drinks as well as tobacco is logical; already occurs in many countries and will
save our community money.
