Oral health impact of sugar-sweetened beverages overlooked
New research on sugar-sweetened beverages reveals one in seven adolescents is drinking more than two cups a day, and is two to three times more likely to have oral health problems than those who don't drink the beverages. The University of Sydney study, published today in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health , reports on the daily consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages by 3,671 year 6, 8 and 10 students. It shows energy drinks are the most popular sweetened beverage with 20 per cent of adolescents consuming at least one cup a day. Lead author and Senior Research Fellow Dr Louise Hardy said the study adds weight to the sugar tax debate, highlighting the significant and often overlooked impacts sugar-sweetened beverages have on oral health. "Consuming two cups a day is roughly equal to 11 teaspoons of sugar which is well in excess of the World Health Organizations' guidelines for sugar intake without even looking at food consumption," said Dr Hardy from the Sydney School of Public Health and Charles Perkins Centre. "We need strategies to reduce adolescent's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, not only due to weight implications, but also because of oral health." "Bad teeth can have significant and lasting social and health impacts. It can cause considerable pain and suffering, and by changing what people eat alter their speech and quality of life." The research is based on data from the NSW Schools Physical Activity and Nutrition survey, a cross sectional representative survey of NSW primary and high school students.
