Survey Reveals Scottish Children Consuming Fewer Fizzy Drinks
A survey conducted by the World Health Organisation has revealed that children in Scotland are avoiding fizzy drinks in favour of healthier alternatives.
The study showed a dramatic decrease in fizzy drink consumption among youngsters, which represents a significant turnaround following research a decade ago, which suggested Scottish children drank more fizzy drinks than any of their European counterparts.
New figures from the WHO show that the number of girls aged between 13 and 15 and boys aged between 11 and 13 years old who consume fizzy drinks on a daily basis has halved, which is extremely positive news for dentists and public health experts.
Fizzy drinks are an unhealthy option for children because they contain a lot of sugar, they are often very acidic and they have no nutritional value. Consumption of such drinks has undoubtedly contributed to increased rates of two of the most common preventable childhood illnesses, obesity and tooth decay.
Candace Currie, a professor of child and adolescent health at the University of St Andrews, said that the news was very positive and the figures represent a huge improvement. The government has been working with health organisations to try and improve children’s health and this has been an area they have been really focusing on, by introducing initiatives, such as banning schools from selling fizzy drinks in vending machines.
Despite the positive news about fizzy drinks, there are other areas of concern highlighted in the survey, as Scottish children consume less fruit than children in other countries and levels of activity are low in comparison to other nations.
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