How many cubes of sugar are in a large (one litre) slushy drink? And if you think that’s much too large a serving, just watch kids coming out of the corner convenience store and see how often they’re carrying a giant drink. Oh, and if you guessed 24 cubes, you’re right.
Sip Smart! BC was created to help educate kids and families about consuming sugary drinks. The program, originally tested in 2008 with Grade 4 students in 20 schools around B.C., has been updated by a partnership of the B.C. Pediatric Society and the B.C. government and funded by provincial health authorities. Sip Smart! BC is being rolled out now for students in grades 4, 5 and 6.
Sip Smart! BC is an educational program that helps teach students about sugary drinks and healthy drink choices. Because most sugary drinks provide little or no nutrition, they are a poor option compared to healthy drinks like water and plain milk. Need to satisfy a thirst? Water is the best choice and is a sugar-free way to stay hydrated, energized and alert.
Sugary drinks abound in store coolers everywhere. They include the usual and obvious like pop or slushies, but also sitting on the shelf are fruit punch and you-name-it-ade. In fact, almost anything that is not labelled 100 per cent fruit juice will contain added sugar, and maybe little or no juice. Sports and energy drinks and even flavoured waters are all culprits containing added sugar.
How much sugar are we talking about? To find out, read the ingredients label: for every four grams of sugar, count a teaspoon, or one sugar cube. That means the average can of pop contains 10 cubes (40 grams) of sugar. Bubble tea has 21 cubes in a 500 ml serving.
The Sip Smart! BC program provides information for teachers in the classroom and also has materials for families to use at home. Even if your child does not receive instruction at school, the parents’ handbook is a rich source of information. All materials are available at www.bcpeds.ca under Programs.
The program’s handbook for teachers is available online along with multiple supporting handouts, overheads and other classroom materials. There are fact sheets, lesson plans, handouts – everything you might need to teach kids about drinking sugar.
The first lesson in the program, called Drink Detective, is a delightful introduction to the subject. It provides three activities starting with Sugar Shocker and is followed by Drink Check and Drink Diary. Other lessons build on this opening by discussing how to use Canada’s Food Guide, how water is most beneficial, and how it’s not just sugar we should watch for in our drinks.
The goal of the Sip Smart! BC program is to help kids make healthy choices. Specifically, that “when kids are thirsty, they reach for healthy thirst-quenchers. Sugary drinks are everywhere, but healthy drink choices are better for a child’s health.”
