Regularly having sugary drinks could make your child more likely to develop a number of unnecessary health problems, including:
Tooth decay
The sugar found in many popular sugary drinks, including fruit juice can cause tooth decay. This can result in cavities, toothache and in some cases teeth having to be taken out.
Having teeth taken out is bad for children because it can cause pain and stress for them. Also, milk teeth are very important for guiding the growth of their adult teeth, so they need to be looked after.
In Liverpool tooth decay in children is on the rise with almost a third of 5 year old children in Liverpool having decayed, missing or filled teeth. On average 2 children a day aged under 10 have to be admitted to hospital to get teeth removed*. So it’s more important than ever to start protecting your child’s teeth from sugar.
(* Source: Public Health England, Finished Consultant Episodes, Hospital Episodes Statistics 2015/16)
Damage to tooth enamel
The acid found in all soft drinks, including diet and ‘no added sugar’ may cause damage to tooth enamel.
Obesity
The extra calories that sugar adds to your child’s diet can lead to weight gain and obesity. Childhood obesity is a big problem in our city, with 12% of reception school age children and almost a quarter of Year 6 children being classed as being obese.* The good news is however; you can start to protect your child from obesity by making small changes like switching to a healthier breakfast.
* (National Child Measurement Programme, 2015/16).
Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and come cancers
Even if your child looks fine on the outside, having too much sugar could still be harming their health. The excess fat that builds up in the body due to them having too much sugar may not always visible but it can still increase their risk of developing serious diseases in the future.
It’s important to protect children from these conditions while you can. Making a few small changes to cut down on sugar such as swapping from sugary drinks to water could help them live a longer, happier life.
