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Kids of All Ages Targeted Next in Soft
Drink Shift
Neil
Merrett
Beverage Daily
December 4, 2008
While a new child soft drink consumption study in the UK
suggests some industry health drive success,
nutritionists predict further scrutiny lies ahead for
higher sugar, carbonated products, which are still
popular with all age groups.
According to the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA),
the study, which was conducted by independent analyst
TNS, sought to ascertain the manner in which UK children
between 0 and 16 years of age consume drinks.
Despite growing fears over obesity and other health
issues, particularly in children, the report concludes
that in 2007, juice-based drinks, bottled water and milk
were twice as likely to be chosen over higher sugar
drinks as in 1993.
Adult pressure
However, while the industry argues that children’s
drinking habits appear to be improving, one nutritionist
suggests pressure will also grow on adults to ensure
moderation in both their alcoholic and non-alcoholic
beverage consumption.
Outside of teas and coffees, carbonated beverages,
diluted squash, pure juice, tap water and alcohol all
represented between seven and eight per cent shares of
total UK beverage consumption, according to a study of
British drinking habits.
Registered nutritionist Sian Porter told
BeverageDaily.com that the child study findings were
‘encouraging’ and reflected a drive across Europe to
modify vending machine content at schools to encourage
healthier product consumption.
While Porter suggested that water and milk consumption
should be part of further focuses in promoting more
‘tooth friendly’ and ‘healthier’ drink choices for
children, consumers of all ages were likely to be
targeted by wider health drives that could affect
beverages..
“Europe-wide, organisations like [Britain’s] Food
Standard’s Agency have promoted big campaigns on issues
like salt reduction,” she stated. “Next up are
initiatives expected to cut down the levels of fat and
energy contributed by drinks and foods.”
Porter suggested that pressure may the be put on
manufacturers to use portion control and providing
smaller packs as a means of working to cut down sugar
and fat consumption in foods and drinks. She added that
sugary and carbonated beverages were an example of
products likely to be singled out in such initiatives.
Five a day
However, beyond targeting specific beverage segments,
for adults and children alike, Porter said that the
age-old message of enjoying drinks in moderation and
remaining hydrated were the best ways of balancing a
diet.
In looking at the soft drink industry though, she added
messages like consuming five fruits or vegetables a day
were having a large impact on how UK consumers were
enjoying their drinks.
“While you can’t just have five glasses of juice a day
to meet this quota, the message is clearly getting
through to people,” she stated.
Study findings
Some of TNS’ main findings from the report included that
when consuming products by themselves, children most
often opted to drink squash as a first choice.
In the 11 to 16 year old age group, the study said that
respondents increasingly opted to drink seemingly more
adult orientated products like carbonated beverages.
About 21 per cent of respondents in the group were found
to choose carbonated beverages as opposed to 13 per cent
of six to ten years olds.
When drinking in front of their parents, the research
suggested a slight variation in consumption patterns for
children though.
“When consuming soft drinks with their parents, the
research showed that children drink a similar range of
drinks,” the report stated. “The most noticeable
difference when the children are with adults is that,
between the ages of 6 to16 years old, tea is three or
four times more likely to be consumed.”
Methodology
According to TNS, the findings were based on data from
two of its own sources, the National Drinks Survey and
its Worldpanel Usage service.
“Both of these studies are cross-sectional,” claimed the
analyst. “The data is captured either through completion
of a diary by the child (in the case of Worldpanel
Usage), or through a face-to-face interview (in the case
of the National Drinks Survey).”
The National Drinks Survey recorded trends in drink
‘units’ consumption for 11,520 randomly selected
individuals, who were no more than 15 years old, over a
ten-year period.
Worldpanel Usage took data from 11,000 individuals, who
were asked to complete a diary of their drink
consumption for two weeks, twice a year, over a period
of four years.
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