Young people think that drinking soft drinks every day is ‘normal’

Drinking soft drinks every day is normal and part of it. That is the opinion of seven out of ten young people, according to the Municipality of Amsterdam on the basis of a GGD survey among a thousand young people (12-16 years) throughout the Netherlands and interviews with 48 young people from the capital.

Only 12 percent never drink soda. One in three respondents drinks it every day. They buy it themselves in the supermarket or get it from home to school. On average, this concerns 2 to 3 glasses of soft drink per day, excluding 16 sugar cubes. That amounts to 73,000 extra calories per year, which, according to the researchers, corresponds to more than a month of eating and drinking. Soft drinks are therefore an important factor in overweight. One in five of Amsterdam children is overweight or obese.

In order to reduce soft drink consumption among young people, it must be made considerably more expensive, by means of a sugar tax of at least 20 percent. The researchers also argue that soft drinks should also be advertised much less, be sold in fewer places and be given more sober packaging. Water should be promoted as an attractive alternative.

“This research underlines the need for a legal sugar tax and measures in the food environment to enable healthy food choices. That is why I am very pleased that the coalition agreement includes an intention to introduce the sugar tax, among other things,” says the Amsterdam health alderman. Simone Kukenheim.