Kids and young people are taking in too much sugar. Most of
the advertisements are directed towards them. What are the implications
of this? What type of community are we going to have in few years to
come? Do we consider the burden of diseases that is going to be faced by
the communities?
I know it is a free market world with everyone having the right to sell the products. But what I want to raise here is that if efforts are not taken now the health of many people can continue to worsen. We have to improve the beverage marketing environment to support rather than harm young people’s health.
With all the research conducted and continue to be conducted there are strong evidences linking consumption of sugary drinks with lots of non-communicable diseases. It must reach a time all of us be concerned with the health of the community. I think the companies making these sugary drinks can do a lot more to manufacture drinks with less harmful effects than these which are in the market.
Well, we have these drinks already in the market with more marketing efforts directed to children and young people. It is now the time for you as a parent to play a big role in ensuring that these young people are consuming fewer sugary drinks every day. Teach them and lead them by examples. Children trust their parents most, if you teach them from early life they are unlikely to break the rules so easily.
Here are some of the changes that parents can do to ensure that young people consume fewer sugary drinks and improve their health:
- Limit the consumption of sugary drinks to your children
- Teach them how to read nutrition labels in order to know sugar contents and other ingredient present in foods.
- Teach children healthy eating from an early age.
- Must stop marketing unhealthy products to youths
- Must stop targeting teens with marketing for sugary and high caffeinated products
- All the lists of ingredients should be listed in a manner that anyone can see them easily.
- Require transparent product labeling, including calories, added sugars, and artificial sweetener content on the front of all packaging.
- Should strengthen children advertising standards to include all forms of marketing to children
- The government should introduce regulation and legislation of marketing sugary drinks
- Advocate for healthy beverages in schools and other youth focused groups.
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