Children get green light to fight flab

An average New Zealand child guzzles almost 6kg of sugar a year in sweetened drinks.

With one in three of the nation's children now overweight or obese, guidelines to steer children towards healthier drink choices at school are being highlighted at this week's National Nutrition and Physical Activity Public Health Conference in Christchurch.

Formulated for schools by the Waitemata District Health Board and backed by the National Heart Foundation, the guidelines use a "traffic light" system that indicates the healthiest drinks schools can stock for their students.

It is the first time such guidelines have been introduced to schools.

Beverages classified as "green" represent a healthier choice, offering some nutritional value and containing fewer kilojoules than "amber" or "red" beverages.

Drinks that fall into the red category - such as full-fat milk drinks and sweetened fizzy drinks - have limited nutritional value and contribute excess energy.

The amount of sugary drinks children consume is a reliable predictor of how much weight they will gain, a review of nutrition research has concluded.

The findings were presented at the conference yesterday by author Rachael Taylor, a lecturer in human nutrition at Otago University.

Although children also consumed sugar-laden beverages elsewhere, schools were a good place to start changing habits, Dr Taylor said.

More than a quarter of an average child's daily sugar intake comes from what they drink.

Some schools are getting the message. Soft-drink vending machines have been banished from St Thomas of Canterbury College and the canteen is fizz-free.

St Thomas principal Bruce Stevenson said not all students were happy about the removal of vending machines.

"Some students did raise concerns. Some felt there should be choice," he said.

But staff felt the health implications were more important. Mr Stevenson said another consideration had been the effect on classroom behaviour of children consuming large doses of caffeine and sugar.

Dr Taylor's report acknowledges that sugary drinks alone do not cause obesity - a point reinforced by Waitemata public health physician, Diana North.

"Most of us just walking around the streets are seeing changes in the body shape of our kids - society is now making it extremely difficult for children to grow up healthily," Dr North said.

Physical activity and other nutritional factors were also being addressed with a second project, Wellbeing in Schools, combining nutrition, physical activity and teacher development programmes in a single package for schools.

High on the list of factors motivating the schools to become involved were health concerns related to obesity, diabetes and dental decay, the Waitemata district health board said.

It said a number of schools in its area were participating in the programmes to take sugary drinks off canteen menus and increase physical activities for students.

- NZPA