Rethink Your Drink
Take the Pledge to Rethink Your Drink!
Starting in June, kick off your summer by taking the pledge to replace sugary drinks with water. If you take the pledge by June 20th, you will be entered into a drawing to win 3 months of refreshing, bottled spring water (4 bottles/month) and a dispenser, courtesy of Mt. Shasta Spring Water.Complete the interactive pdf by typing in your name, phone number and the date. Then click on "Submit by E-mail" in the upper right corner. If the "Submit by E-mail" link doesn't work for any reason, simply save the completed form and then email it as an attachment.
If you prefer to send by mail, please print the form, then complete and mail to:
Shasta County Public Health
Attn: Go H20
2660 Breslauer Way
Redding, CA 96001
Rethink Your Drink Pledge - When you sign and submit this pledge card you will be entered into a drawing to win 3 months of bottled spring water.
Tracking Sheet - Use this tracking sheet to help you stay on track for a healthier summer.
Mt. Shasta Water Coupon - Print this coupon for 2 free bottles of spring water when you subscribe for service.
Why Rethink Your Drink?
Sugary drinks (see box at right) contain extra calories that provide little nutrition and can lead to unwanted weight gain. Being overweight and/or obese increases the risk of many chronic diseases, including:
- high blood pressure
- heart disease
- cancer
- stroke
- type 2 diabetes
How much sugar are you drinking?
Watch these videos to find out.
Is sugar hiding in your drink?
High-calorie sweeteners go by many different names and are not always obvious in the ingredients list. If one or more of the following appear in the ingredients list of your favorite beverage, you are drinking a sugary drink:
- Corn syrup
- Dextrose
- Fructose
- Fruit juice concentrates
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Honey
- Sucrose
- Sugar
- Syrup
How much sugar is in your drink?
Did you know?
- In Shasta County, children between the ages of 6-17 are more likely than younger children to drink three or more sodas in a week.
- A child's risk for obesity increases an average of 60 percent with every additional daily serving of soda.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control, half of the population age 2 and older consumes sugary drinks - meaning soda, sweetened bottled water, sports and energy drinks and fruit drinks (but not 100-percent juice) - everyday.
- To burn off the calories an average teen boy consumes in sugary drinks (240 calories from one 20oz cola), he would need to jog for thirty minutes or walk for more than one hour.
- 63% of U.S. high school students drink soda, sports drinks, energy drinks or other sugar sweetened beverages daily.
- American teens drink almost twice as much soda and sweetened beverages as milk.
- The average American consumes 50 gallons of soda and other sweetened beverages each year.
- Marketers spend close to $500 million a year to reach children and adolescents with messages about sugar-sweetened drinks, more than they spend on any other category.
What can you do?
Make smart drink choices...try the following tips:- When thirsty, think water first.
- Drink water when eating out – it’s free!
- Drink 100% juice in limited amounts or mix juice with seltzer water.
- Make flavor infused water by adding lemons, limes, berries, cucumbers, mint leaves or other natural flavors for a refreshing treat.
- Choose unsweetened coffee or tea and lightly flavor it yourself.
- Cut portion sizes of sugar-sweetened drinks by choosing a “small” instead of a “large”.
Resources
- Choose Health LA - for more healthy drink tips
- Harvard School of Public Health - Healthy Beverage Guidelines
- Let's Do This King County - tips on cutting back on sugary drinks
- California Center for Public Health Advocacy - Bubbling Over article on soda consumption and its link to obesity in California
- Sugar Stacks - visual pictures of amounts of sugar in different food and drinks
- CDC Rethink Your Drink page - calorie content information and tips for cutting back on sugary drinks
