INTRODUCTION
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Obesity is a massive problem concerning South Africans. South Africa is considered to be the most obese country in Sub-Saharan Africa. The incidence of obesity in the country has risen dramatically, as has the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Fruit or fruit-flavoured drinks, soft drinks, energy drinks, flavoured water, coffees and teas are a few examples of beverages that contain sugar or caloric sweeteners. Research proves that the consumption of these beverages leads to weight gain in adults and children. Decreasing sugar sweetened beverages will thus reduce the prevalence of obesity and its related diseases.
The University of the Witwatersrand …show more content…
Fanta Orange and Fuze Tea were picked as the second most popular sugary drink amongst young adults. According to Figure 1 and Table 1, Fanta Grape has the most sugar of all the sweetened beverages, containing a staggering 44.1 grams of sugar. That is nine teaspoons of sugar! Fanta Orange is not far behind, containing 41 grams (eight teaspoons) of sugar. Fuze Tea is not the best healthier alternative either, containing 19.2 grams (four teaspoons) of sugar. The fact that young adults prefer these sugary drinks is startling. Sugar can be addictive, especially amongst young …show more content…
I’ve learned that Fanta Grape has the highest sugar content and is also the drink most popular amongst the teenagers involved in my survey. I’ve come to the realization that most teenagers drink sweetened beverages far too often and even have them freely available at home. The problem with sugary drinks is that they are inexpensive and easily accessible. School tuck shops sell them and students regularly buy them for lunch breaks.
I discovered from my survey that teenagers are still willing to buy their favourite sugary drinks if they become more expensive. Alarmingly, not even an increase in their prices will stop them. This could be an indication of sugar addiction. I therefore do not think that young adults would buy or consume less cooldrink if it became more expensive. Instead, I propose that a more drastic measure be taken in order to reduce the sugar intake of the youth. Supermarkets and school tuck-shops could double the price of sweetened beverages and limit their supply thereof in an attempt to fight sugar addiction amongst young adults. School tuck shops could even stop selling these toxic beverages. This way, students will become accustomed to not being able to buy cooldrinks at
__________________________________________________________________________________
Obesity is a massive problem concerning South Africans. South Africa is considered to be the most obese country in Sub-Saharan Africa. The incidence of obesity in the country has risen dramatically, as has the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Fruit or fruit-flavoured drinks, soft drinks, energy drinks, flavoured water, coffees and teas are a few examples of beverages that contain sugar or caloric sweeteners. Research proves that the consumption of these beverages leads to weight gain in adults and children. Decreasing sugar sweetened beverages will thus reduce the prevalence of obesity and its related diseases.
The University of the Witwatersrand …show more content…
Fanta Orange and Fuze Tea were picked as the second most popular sugary drink amongst young adults. According to Figure 1 and Table 1, Fanta Grape has the most sugar of all the sweetened beverages, containing a staggering 44.1 grams of sugar. That is nine teaspoons of sugar! Fanta Orange is not far behind, containing 41 grams (eight teaspoons) of sugar. Fuze Tea is not the best healthier alternative either, containing 19.2 grams (four teaspoons) of sugar. The fact that young adults prefer these sugary drinks is startling. Sugar can be addictive, especially amongst young …show more content…
I’ve learned that Fanta Grape has the highest sugar content and is also the drink most popular amongst the teenagers involved in my survey. I’ve come to the realization that most teenagers drink sweetened beverages far too often and even have them freely available at home. The problem with sugary drinks is that they are inexpensive and easily accessible. School tuck shops sell them and students regularly buy them for lunch breaks.
I discovered from my survey that teenagers are still willing to buy their favourite sugary drinks if they become more expensive. Alarmingly, not even an increase in their prices will stop them. This could be an indication of sugar addiction. I therefore do not think that young adults would buy or consume less cooldrink if it became more expensive. Instead, I propose that a more drastic measure be taken in order to reduce the sugar intake of the youth. Supermarkets and school tuck-shops could double the price of sweetened beverages and limit their supply thereof in an attempt to fight sugar addiction amongst young adults. School tuck shops could even stop selling these toxic beverages. This way, students will become accustomed to not being able to buy cooldrinks at