WANT EVEN MORE HEALTHY IDEAS FROM SHAPE YOUR FUTURE?
Choosing water over sugary drinks supports a healthier weight, body and brain!
OKLAHOMA CITY (June 6, 2016) – Shape Your Future is an ongoing statewide health initiative supported by the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). The overall goal of the Shape Your Future public education intervention is to encourage Oklahomans to eat better, move more and be tobacco free, as Oklahoma ranks in the bottom 10 among states for rates of tobacco use and obesity.
This June, Shape Your Future is sharing new messages on why Oklahoma should “Rethink Your Drink,” and choose water over sugary drinks.
The majority of young adult Oklahomans, ages 18–34, drink sugar-sweetened beverages at least once per day—more than any other state in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The amount of sugar consumed by many Oklahoma young adults conservatively adds up to more than 21 million pounds of added sugar per year, or 38 pounds per person. High consumption of sugary drinks is associated with obesity in adults and children.
The Shape Your Future Rethink Your Drink messaging aims to reduce high obesity rates through simple ways: increasing awareness of the amounts of sugar in sweetened beverages, and highlighting the benefits of drinking water.
Messages from Shape Your Future are geared to adults, especially parents and caregivers of children. These individuals have the best opportunity to influence what Oklahoma children are drinking and to help children make healthier choices to avoid the onset of obesity.
Sugar-sweetened beverages are by far the biggest source of added sugar in the average American’s diet, accounting for more than one-third of the added sugar consumed. Soda, sports drinks, energy drinks and juice boxes contain shocking amounts of sugar. A typical 12-ounce soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar—or about 10 sugar packets—amounting to 160 calories.
The additional calories consumed through these sugar-sweetened beverages are ‘empty calories’ that have little to no nutritional value, increase hunger and push people over their recommended daily calorie intake.
“The problem is that many Oklahomans just aren’t aware of how much sugar is hiding in sugar-sweetened beverages,” said Tracey Strader, executive director of TSET. “Many parents believe that drinks like juice boxes and sports drinks are healthy for children. The truth is, these drinks have high amounts of added sugar. Drinking these sugar-sweetened beverages has been linked to a variety of adverse health effects, including weight gain, obesity and type 2 diabetes, as well as liver disease, gout and tooth decay.”
Studies have shown:
- Each additional 12-ounce soft drink consumed per day by children increases their odds of becoming obese by 60%.
- People who consume sugary drinks regularly—1 to 2 cans a day or more—have a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- Men who drink one can of a sugary beverage per day have a 20% higher risk of having a heart attack or dying from a heart attack.
- Women who consume a can per day of a sugar-sweetened beverage have a 75% higher risk of gout.
The FDA recently finalized changes to the nutrition facts labels on packaged foods to help consumers understand the amounts of added sugar in their foods. The new labels, due in 2018, make it easier for consumers to make better-informed choices when it comes to their added sugar intake.
“We hope a newfound knowledge of the high amounts of sugar in these everyday drinks will get adults and children to choose water over sugar-sweetened beverages,” said Miranda Manning, registered dietitian and nutrition coordinator for the OSDH Center for the Advancement of Wellness. “We want to show Oklahomans that choosing water is the healthy—and easy—choice.”
By using evidence-based practices like health communication interventions, Shape Your Future Rethink Your Drink messaging will bring to light these not-so-sweet facts about sugary drinks, and help Oklahomans shape a healthier future. Evaluation of the Shape Your Future intervention has shown Oklahomans are positively responding to the messaging and beginning to make positive behavior changes. All health communication interventions supported by TSET, such as Shape Your Future, are evaluated by the University Of Oklahoma College Of Public Health.
The Shape Your Future health communication intervention supports TSET’s strategic plan to reduce the leading causes of death in Oklahoma—cancer and cardiovascular disease. TSET’s program, grant and research efforts focus on reducing the leading causes of preventable death—obesity and tobacco use—where Oklahomans live, work, learn and play by making the easy choice the healthy choice.
More information about Rethink Your Drink can be found at ShapeYourFutureOK.com. There, you will find downloadable posters to help spread the word, water intake recommendations, ideas on how to make your water ‘mouthwatering’ and more. You can also connect with Shape Your Future on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (@ShapeFutureOK) to access other exciting tools.
Media Contact:
Elyse Maxwell
Office: 405-522-4775
Cell: 405-568-8568
elysem@tset.ok.gov
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Shape Your Future encourages Oklahomans to eat better, move more and be tobacco free to improve community health. By leading healthy lifestyles, Oklahomans can decrease the number of citizens who fall victim to death and disease while increasing community health, physical activity and quality of life. For more information, go to ShapeYourFutureOK.com.
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations working towards shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, by cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and by working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health. To learn more go to: www.tset.ok.gov.