Question

What messages could I give to adolescents in middle and high school who consume sugary beverage influenced by the mechanisms that marketers utilize to push consumption of this unhealthy products.

Answer 1

Health education is the trade mark for me to teach everyone . I would provide health education about the sugary beverages including its advantages and disadvantages .

Sugar occurs naturally in all foods such as fruits , vegetables, grains and dairy products .

Consuming whole foods that contain natural sugar are okay because plant foods have high amounts of fibre, essential minerals, antioxidants while dairy foods contain protein and calcium. Since these foods are digested slowly by the body, the sugar in them offers a slow supply of energy to your cells

A high intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers

Problems occur when people eat too much added sugar which is sugar that food manufacturers add to products to increase flavour or extend shelf life

In American diet ,the top culprits are :-

soft drinks, fruit drinks, flavoured yoghurts, cereals, cookies, cakes, candy and most processed foods

Example of a study :

15 year study of over 30,000 participants published in 2014 JAMA INTERNAL MEDICINE, Dr. Hu found an association between a high sugar diet and a greater risk of dying from heart disease. People who got 17 to 21% of their calories from added sugar had a 38% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who consumed 8% of their calories from added sugar. In other words, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk of heart disease

There are several health affects of sugary beverages :-

- obesity

- osteoporosis

- kidney stones

- cancer

- high blood pressure

- GI problems

Sugar affect your heart most :

Not completely understood but has several indirect connections. 1) it overloads the liver which metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat. Overtime, this leads to accumulation of fat which may turn into fatty liver disease, a contributor to diabetes which in turn raises your risk of heart disease. 2). Consuming too much added sugar can raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease

Consuming excess sugar in the form of sugary beverages also contributes to weight gain by tricking the body into turning off its appetite control system because liquid calories are not as satisfying as calories from solid foods