Consuming too much and regularly sugary drinks causes many health consequences such as overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular diseases.
Associate Professor Truong Tuyet Mai, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said that a 330ml portion of carbonated sugary drinks usually contains about 35g of sugar, equivalent to providing about 140 kcal of energy, while providing very little nutritional value. other nutrients.
“Improper use of sweetened beverages has been identified as the cause of overweight and obesity,” Associate Professor Mai said, citing research that drinking one can of soft drink/day for 1.5 years will increase the risk by 60%. overweight, obesity.
The reason is that these drinks are in liquid form so they are quickly absorbed by the body. At that time, the body does not have time to record the amount of calories it has just consumed and send satiety signals to the brain. Therefore, the body will continue to consume energy in an uncontrolled way, leading to excess energy.
In addition, sweetness stimulates cravings for sweet foods, increases hunger, reduces the satiety threshold, and is high in carbohydrates. Therefore, drinking a lot of sugary drinks increases the amount of energy absorbed into the body, thereby leading to overweight and obesity.
Abusing this drink also increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. A person who regularly consumes 1-2 cans of soft drinks/day (or more) has a 26% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than people who rarely drink these drinks. If you replace 355ml of sugary drinks daily with other drinks, you reduce the risk of diabetes by 2-10%.
Because sugar in drinks changes the body’s metabolism, affecting insulin, cholesterol and metabolites that cause high blood pressure and inflammation. These changes increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, tooth decay, metabolic syndrome and liver disease.
Even consuming soft drinks high in sugar and acidity can contribute to harmful oral health.
Soft drinks contain sweeteners that are not good for health. Image: Freepik
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2002, the average Vietnamese person consumed 6.04 liters of sugary drinks. In 2021, this number is 55.78 liters, an increase of 10 times. Meanwhile, the American Heart Association recommends that children from 2 to 18 years old should limit sugar consumption to less than 25 g/day, and limit sugary drinks to no more than 235 ml/week. Children under 2 years old should not have any foods or drinks with added sugar.
According to WHO calculations, if a tax increases the price of drinks by 10%, people will drink about 11% less. They switched to healthier drinks like mineral water.
Currently, 117 countries and territories have applied special consumption taxes on these products.
In addition to taxes, WHO also recommends applying control measures such as nutritional labeling on the front of drinks, limiting advertising, limiting sugary drinks in schools, and educating children on healthy nutrition. and teenagers.
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Lam, WHO representative in Vietnam, proposed that the Government consider applying a tax on sugary drinks at 20% of the retail price. On the other hand, consider taxing sugar content or thresholds to encourage products to reduce sugar.
“Measures like these can help slow the rise in overweight and obesity rates, especially in children, and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases in future generations,” Lam said.