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Kids Don’T Need More Sugar – They Are Sweet Enough

Latrobe City Council together with the Latrobe City Pacers Basketball Team are supporting and promoting the ‘Kids

By Latrobe City Council - 18th July 2007 - Back to News

Go for your life’ project within local primary schools and other children’s settings to promote the benefits of drinking water for healthy bodies and healthy teeth.

Latrobe City mayor, Councillor Tony Zimora said that the Pacers have been promoting physical activity in local primary schools and also the importance of eating healthy foods and drinking water.

"The Pacers have visited many local schools, taking part in various activities and reinforcing the message that water is the best drink and that healthy eating and keeping active are important too.

"All schools registered with the ‘Kids – Go for your life’ program have received goodies like water bottles, stickers, balloons and lanyards. The Pacers team also took with them similar things as prizes on their visits.

"By having top sports people encouraging our school children about eating and living well, we hope that the message will get through. We must lead by example and really change our own lifestyles in order to reduce the risk of health problems for both ourselves and our children," Cr Zimora said.

Latrobe City’s community facilitator, Alison Clark, said that all ‘Kids - Go for your life' schools and centres in Latrobe have received resources about the benefits of drinking water as opposed to sugar-laden soft drinks.

"These resources include a parent tip sheet on how to promote healthy family lifestyles. Tips such as always having a jug of fresh water available in the fridge; providing water with meals; ensuring that kids see soft drinks as for special occasions only. The key message is to tap into water everyday," Ms Clark said.

"Other information that has been made available is just how much sugar is in some of these drinks. For example a 375 ml can of soft drink contains about 10 teaspoons of sugar. Drinks with high levels of sugar and include soft drinks, flavoured mineral water, cordials, most sports drinks, fruit juice drinks, flavoured milks and 100% fruit juice. It is believed that an increased consumption of these types of drinks leads to increased risk of obesity and dental problems.

"Promoting the drinking of water has many positive benefits such as improved body function, regulation of temperature, prevention of dehydration and headaches, improvement in concentration and reduced level of tooth decay," Ms Clark explained.

"The children have been taking part in activities such as designing logos and posters for the program, decorating water bottles and preparing a demonstration of how much sugar is in soft drinks.

"These sorts of activities really help students to understand the importance of avoiding sweet drinks and developing a habit of drinking water," Ms Clark concluded.

‘Kids Go For Your Life’ is a state government funded initiative through the Cancer Council of Victoria, managed and delivered by Latrobe City Council.


Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com



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