Soft Drinks 'a Health Threat'

[george]

Soft drinks 'a health threat'

Dangerously high levels of sugar found

BANGKOK: -- Popular soft drinks sold in local markets have been found to contain dangerously high amounts of sugar which could cause lethal diseases such as obesity and diabetes, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (THPF) has warned. Cha yen (iced milk tea) was the most risky soft drink as a 500ml bottle contained up to 31.25 teaspoons of sugar, said Sirikiat Liangkobkit, chief of the THPF's health risk reduction division.

According to health experts' recommendations, sugar intake should be below four teaspoons per day for children and six for adults.

The foundation recently inspected best-selling sugary drinks, such as green tea and carbonated soft drinks, and found that most of them had unacceptably high levels of sugar, said Dr Sirikiat.

''Considering the amount of sugar added to the drinks, the products have now become prime threats to Thai consumers' health,'' he said.

Dr Sirikiat called on soft drink manufacturers to cut the amount of sugar in their products to protect the health of consumers, especially children, who were already addicted to extra-sweet drinks.

''This is the right time to adjust the drink products' recipes and have them taste less sweet than before, because the sugar price has skyrocketed to over 17 baht a kilogramme. Cutting the amount of sugar will not only help the manufacturers reduce production costs, but also protect their customers from serious diseases caused by over-intake of sugar.'' The government on Tuesday raised the retail price of sugar from 13 baht a kilogramme to 17.25 baht. Soft drink manufacturers are expected to increase their product prices following the sugar price hike.

Dentist Chantana Ungchusak, who runs a campaign to reduce sugar intake among children, said consumers in developed countries avoided buying very sweet products as they were aware of how dangerous they were. ''Soft drinks and snacks manufacturers in the US are focusing on producing sugar-free products. They are competing with each other to use as little sugar as possible. Thailand should follow that step,'' said Dr Chantana.

--Bangkok Post 2006-03-11

[boppia]

They have become such a part of the modern world. We all know they are bad for us but most still drink on. I am as guilty as anyone.

Something definitely should be done. It would be great to have some laws written in western countries limiting the amount of sugar put into soft drinks but I'd guess business people would fight it to the death of all.