Fizzy drinks fuelling our obesity epidemic, warns food authority

WE guzzle about 120 litres of fizzy drinks a year, compared to just 21 litres of water, research has revealed.

In 2002, 476 million litres of fizzy or carbonated drinks were consumed in Ireland equivalent to every man, woman and child in the country drinking 120 litres, the figures from independent market analyst Datamonitor show.

By comparison, each person drank the equivalent of 21 litres of bottled water per year, or a total of 83m litres, and 19 litres of juice (or a total of 77m litres).

Acting chief executive of the Food Safety Authority Alan Reilly said each litre of fizzy drinks contains 100g of sugar and warned that daily consumption of these drinks is contributing to the country's obesity epidemic.

Annual consumption of soft drinks in Ireland is forecast to climb 27% by 2007 to 833m litres, making this market worth €900 million.

According to Datamonitor, most of this growth will be fuelled by sales of bottled water and energy drinks, with bottled water sales alone expected to increase by more than 50% by 2007, or to 31 litres per person a year. However, soft drinks sales are also expected to climb 24% during the same period to 590m litres a year, or 148 litres per person.

Mr Reilly said he was concerned to see Ireland's already high consumption of fizzy drinks set to rise over the coming years.

"The bottom line is that we don't drink enough water in this country. We should be drinking about two litres every day and because we don't, people are going around the place constantly dehydrated. Drinking water is associated with a reduction in heart attacks and helps our kidneys function better, and yet we still are not drinking enough of it," he said. Mr Reilly said each litre of fizzy drinks contains about 100g of sugar. He said by taking sugar in this liquid form it has no nutritional benefits and is just empty calories that contribute to people becoming overweight.

"We are seeing an increase in obesity and drinking fizzy drinks is contributing to this. Not only are people not burning off these energy-dense drinks, but they also reduce people's appetite control," Mr Reilly warned.

Research published last week also found fizzy drinks are the major factor behind increasing tooth erosion among teenagers.

Consuming carbonated drinks increased the chances of a 12-year-old suffering tooth erosion by 59% and for 14-year-olds the risk was increased 220%, according to research in the British Dental Journal.

But for those who drank four or more glasses a day, the risk increased by 252% for those aged 12 and 513% for 14-year-olds.

Dental erosion is caused by acidic substances, such as fizzy drinks, wearing down the enamel coating on teeth, while decay is caused by sugar reacting with bacteria in plaque.

Out of more than 1,000 teenagers surveyed, 76% of 12-year-olds said they drank fizzy drinks, rising to 92% of 14-year-olds. For all age groups, over 40% said they had three or more glasses of fizzy drinks a day.

Author of the Datamonitor report Dominik Nosalik noted changing lifestyles, needs and expectations are all responsible for consumption growth of all non-alcoholic drinks, as well as strict drink driving laws.

"The number of occasions available to consume soft drinks has increased and the ability of soft drinks to satisfy physiological and psychological needs has expanded with innovations in product and packaging," Mr Nosalik said.