Rethink Sugary Drink is urging Australians to be aware of “alluring marketing” for frozen drinks this summer.
Citing a new survey, conducted by a dietitian at Cancer Council Victoria, Rethink Sugary Drink claims that some of these beverages contain more than a week’s worth of recommended sugar intake, with up to 49 teaspoons of sugar per serve.
“7-Eleven’s Slurpee Sour Orange Mega topped the table with 49 teaspoons of sugar, more than eight times the daily added sugar intake recommended by the World Health Organisation,” says the organisation.
“Hungry Jack’s Frozen Fanta Sour Watermelon Spider Large contains 18 teaspoons of sugar, whilst KFC’s Mountain Dew Freeze contains 13 teaspoons.
“The review also looked at the tactics used to promote these products, finding that brands are using incentives like add-ons and cheap deals, as well as sneaky marketing tactics aimed at young people to entice them to buy these sugar-laden drinks.
“7-Eleven’s Slurpee Mystery Flavour challenge is one such insidious promotion targeting young Australians, with their Mystery Flavour competition. Hungry Jacks have also turned to gimmicks with their Survive the Sour challenge, encouraging participants to upload taste-reaction videos to their social media under a branded hashtag.”
A health warning
Cancer Council Victoria Director of Prevention Craig Sinclair says that brands use sophisticated promotional techniques to entice young people and distract them from the amount of sugar hiding in them.
“During summer, young people are being bombarded with these incredibly cheap deals, creative new flavours, competitions and social media challenges and of course it makes it hard to resist,” he says.
“But all of this is just spin to make these drinks seem like a fun summer treat, whilst distracting from the eye-watering amount of sugar they contain.”
Mr Sinclair says although these drinks are cheap and readily accessible, the impact this has on our health is significant.
“The World Health Organisation recommends no more than six teaspoons of added sugar a day for optimal health for adults. Some of these mega drinks have eight times that,” he says.
“It’s easy to slurp down one of these drinks in a couple of minutes without realising you’ve just consumed over a weeks’ worth of recommended sugar intake, particularly for children.
“Consuming too much sugar is bad for us and regularly drinking these drinks can lead to unhealthy weight gain, increasing the risk of serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart and kidney disease, stroke and some cancers.”
A dental perspective
Dr Mikaela Chinotti, Oral Health Promoter at the Australian Dental Association, a Rethink Sugary Drink partner, says the high sugar in these drinks is also bad for our teeth, contributing to tooth decay and erosion.
“The excessive sugar content in frozen drinks can harm your oral health, leading to tooth decay,” she says.
“They also contain high levels of acid, which can dissolve the outer surface of tooth enamel and lead to further tooth erosion and cavities.
“Half of Australian children and one in three young men have experienced tooth decay, something that is becoming far too common. If we could get young Australians to cut back on these extremely sugary drinks or stop drinking them entirely, we’d start to see much healthier teeth.”
