Cardinia’s sweet tooth is leaving a sour aftertaste …
CARDINIA Shire’s residents are guzzling down sugary soft drinks at a rate far greater than those in other municipalities.
And our sweet addiction is having a heavy impact on our health and our waistlines.
Some 17.5 per cent of Cardinia Shire adults have a can of soft drink each and every day. The Victorian state average is just 12.4 per cent.
And that’s said to be a major factor in half of Cardinia’s residents being overweight or obese, with poor diet the main contributor.
Accredited Practising Dietitian, Elizabeth Magnusson from Appetite For Life Dietetics in Beaconsfield said she was not surprised by the findings.
“The main reason for weight gain when consuming soft drink can be due to an excess of overall energy – we don’t feel satisfied after drinking soft drink compared to eating the same calories from food,” Ms Magnusson said.
“The total energy intake throughout the day will be more because we still eat the same amount of food but with the added calories from the soft drink.“
Those who live close to supermarkets are more likely to buy nutritious food, while people who live close to fast food outlets more regularly gobble a fatty snack.
Ms Magnusson said many of her clients didn’t realise how much soft drink contributed to a person’s overall health, sleep quality and weight status.
“People come to me for many different reasons, but often realise their problems are all interconnected,” she said.
She has found many of her clients don’t realise the amount of caffeine hidden in the fizzy drink, leading to a restless night’s sleep.
“Soft drink doesn’t contain many main nutrients that we need and get from the other five food groups – if you compare it to a glass of milk, soft drink doesn’t help us from a nutritional point of view,” Ms Magnusson said.
The report, released in May last year, also found local residents don’t eat adequate amounts of fruit and vegetables.
“It’s very common for clients not to meet the recommended vegetable servings, and it’s very concerning,” Ms Magnusson said.
Only 8.7 per cent of adults in the shire meet the recommended five serves per day and just 37.3 per cent of children aged 0-16 meet the minimum vegetable servings.
Healthy Together Cardinia Shire found the easy access to the energy dense, nutrient poor food compared to healthy snack food was a big contributor to the obesity problem.
“A good start is to swap it, don’t stop it,” Ms Magnusson said.
“The key is slow changes – it’s a matter of setting out small and sustainable changes to the habits so the effort isn’t in vain.“
