Wellbeing Notices

Soft Drinks & Energy Drinks

A quick question… how many soft drinks do you and your family drink daily or weekly?  Think about it! 

Cans of soft drink can have about 10 teaspoons of sugar (sometimes more!), loads of artificial colours and flavours and are just liquid candy. They will and do ruin teeth because they have acid and sugar in them, and even the ones with only one calorie have artificial sweeteners some of which can damage health just as much as sugar can. 

Constantly eating foods and drinks high in sugar and fructose can lead to diabetes. On top of that, just drinking one typical can - every day - can lead to gaining an extra 6 or 7 kilos of weight over a year. Then there is caffeine added to some soft drinks to give an ‘energy boost’ but puts strain on the heart and body and in some people can be addictive. Recent research on 2000 twelve year old’s from Sydney shows drinking lots of soft drink can lead to heart damage long term. Soft drinks in the afternoon and at night can cause a bedwetting child to wet the bed more as it irritates the bladder. Let’s bring back water! 

Anyone can see many students buying large bottles of soft drink on the way to and from school, and many who drink energy drinks every morning to ‘wake up’. Energy drinks have lots of caffeine, lots of sweetness and can lead to problems sleeping, over stimulation of the heart, anxiety, and affects balance and coordination. It can also stop the body absorbing food as well as it could. So, check out your family’s soft drink and caffeine use, and maybe do some swapping for water! Our bodies are after all made up of about 65% water!

Josie Mitchell

Secondary School Nurse