Soft Drink Ban activity

Episode 6
th
11 March 2014
Activity
Soft Drink Ban
Key Learning
Students will learn more about the sugar content of food and drink and how to use nutrition information
panels to find sugar content. They will examine the effects of sugar and investigate ways of promoting
preventative health through healthy eating.
The Australian Curriculum
Health and Physical Education/Personal, Social and
Community Health/Being Healthy, Safe and Active
Plan and practice strategies to promote health, safety and
wellbeing year 5
(ACPPS054)
Health and Physical Education/Personal, Social and
Community Health/Being Healthy, Safe and Active
Plan and practice strategies to promote health, safety and
wellbeing year 6
(ACPPS054)
Health and Physical Education/Personal, Social and
Community Health/Contributing to Healthy and Active
Communities
Health and Physical Education/Personal, Social and
Community Health/Contributing to Healthy and Active
Communities
Investigate the role of preventative health in promoting and
maintaining health, safety and wellbeing for individuals and their
Investigate the role of preventative health in promoting and
maintaining health, safety and wellbeing for individuals and their
communities year 5
(ACPPS058)
communities year 6
(ACPPS058)
Discussion Questions
1. What are the students measuring?
2. How much does one teaspoon of sugar equal in grams?
3. How many teaspoons were there in the can of cola?
4. Apart from fizzy drinks, what other drinks can be high in sugar?
5. Which drink had the most sugar:
a) The flavoured milk?
b) The sports drink?
c) The orange juice?
6. What new rule does the ACT government want to bring in for schools?
7. Would it be the only state to ban sugary drinks in schools?
8. What percentage of kids have sugary drinks almost every day?
9. Do you think the government should do something to discourage people from buying sugary drinks?
10. What do you think the best solution would be?
©ABC 2013
Activities
The Effects of Sugar
After watching BtN Soft Drink Ban story ask students the following questions to find out what they know
about the effects of sugar. Students will compare their responses.
Questions
What foods and drinks do you consume that contain sugar?
How does sugar affect you? Think about your energy levels, health, behaviour and sleep.
What changes do you notice when you eat sugar?
What types of food contain sugar?
What types of foods don’t contain sugar?
What are some good things about sugar?
What are some problems that are caused by eating too much sugar?
Activity - Sugar Ranking
Provide, or ask students to provide, a variety of drink containers (full or empty). For example: soft drinks, fruit
drinks, juice, iced tea, sports drinks, flavoured water.
Break students into groups and, without looking at labels, ask the groups to rank the drinks according to how
much sugar they think each contains. Then ask them to look at the nutrition information panels on each
drink.
How much sugar does each drink contain per package?
Ask students to compile a new list of drinks from the most sugary to the least. How does it compare to
their first list?
Were there any big surprises?
Discussion:
Discuss the use of words/colours/pictures and
how they can convey messages about the
product.
Are drinks trying to seem healthy, tasty, cool,
etc?
Are there any drinks which seem to be healthier
than they actually are?
Class Debate - Changing Behaviour
The government adds tax to the price of alcohol and cigarettes to try and discourage people from buying
them. Overseas there have been some calls for governments to put a tax on sugary drinks too.
Organise a class debate on the subject: “Should sugary drinks be taxed?” Ask students to think about the
following:
Would you stop buying sugary drinks if they cost a bit more?
©ABC 2014
Should governments be interfering in what people eat and drink?
Ask students to suggest their own ways of changing people’s behaviour when it comes to sugary drinks.
Types of Sugar
Sugar comes in many forms. Here are some of the common words for different types of sugar that you might
find on ingredients labels. Hint: the words “syrup”, “sweetener”, and anything ending in “ose” can usually be
assumed to be “sugar”.
Barley Malt
Powdered Sugar
Raw Sugar
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Cane Juice
Corn Sweetener
Fructose
Dextrose
Sucrose
Maltodextrin
Corn Syrup
Saccharose
Honey
Glucose
Activity - Finding Sugar
Below is the nutrition information for a packet of muesli bars. Ask students to look at the list of ingredients
and identify sugars.
INGREDIENTS: Oat bran, rice, corn syrup, sugar, fructose, whole grain rolled oats,
dextrose, oat and fruit clusters (toasted oats [rolled oats, strawberry flavoured apples,
corn syrup, brown sugar, natural and artificial flavours]), high fructose corn syrup,
vegetable oil, contains 2% or less of potassium chloride, brown sugar, sorbitol,
glycerine, malt flavouring, natural and artificial flabour, salt, soy, lecithin, niacinamide,
non-fat dry milk, whole wheat flour, BHT, vitamin A, B6, rivin, thiamine mononitrate,
folic acid, vitamin B12.
When a food label says ‘No Added Sugar’ the product may contain naturally occurring sugars e.g.
lactose (milk sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar), but no additional sugars have been added to the
product.
©ABC 2014
Activity – Choosing healthy food
The Dieticians Association of Australia recommends that adults have no more than 90g of sugar per day.
Ask students to choose breakfast, recess, lunch, dinner and drinks from the options below.* Add up the
sugar and see if it stays under the limit.
Egg muffin
Sugars: 3g
Fruity Cereal
Sugars: 12g
Wheat Cereal
Sugars: 4g
Banana
Sugars: 12g
Porridge (plain)
Sugars: 0g
Toast and Jam
Sugars: 15g
Muesli bar
Sugars: 20g
Chocolate bar
Sugars: 20g
Apple
Sugars: 12g
Yoghurt
Sugars: 27g
Cheese Sticks (2)
Sugars: 2g
Snack pack
Sugars: 7g
Meat Pie
Sugars: 2g
Ham and Salad
Sandwich
Sugars: 2g
Hamburger
Sugars: 13g
Sushi
sugars: 4g
Chicken Salad
Sugars:3g
Peanut butter
sandwich
Sugars: 6g
Spaghetti Bolognese
Sugars: 7g
Pizza (2 slices)
Sugars: 8g
Chicken & Veggies
Sugars: 6g
Pad Thai noodles
Sugars: 12g
Beef Chow Mein
Sugars: 2g
Fried Chicken and
Coleslaw
Sugars: 14g
Whole Milk
Sugars: 5g
Water
Sugars: 0g
Sports Drink
(750mL)
Sugars: 45g
Soft Drink (can)
Sugars: 39g
Fruit Drink
Sugars: 10g
Orange Juice
Sugars: 8g
*these figures are a rough estimate and may vary depending on brands and ingredients.
Daily Menu:
Food and Drink
Sugars
BREAKFAST
RECESS
LUNCH
DINNER
Total sugars:
©ABC 2014
he World Health Organisation has recently recommended that people reduce their sugar intake to 30g a
day. Can you design a menu that comes in under the limit?
Remember – Low in sugar doesn’t always mean healthy!
What other things should you look for when choosing healthy food?
According to the chart, a banana has more sugar than a meat pie. Does that mean
the pie is healthier? Why/why not?
Do some research and find out the fat and salt content of the foods that you
chose. Would that change your choice?
Further Investigation
Keep a food diary for a day. Use nutrition information labels and online nutrition calculators to find out how
much sugar you’re eating and drinking.
Visit your school canteen and analyse the amount of sugar found in the food. What ingredients are used to
make the foods found in your school canteen?
 Related Research Links
Behind the News – Bitter Sweet
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3825542.htm
Behind the News – Slimming Soft Drinks
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3529615.htm
ABC News - ACT Government to remove sugary drinks from sale at schools by 2017
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-21/act-government-to-remove-sugary-drinks-from-sale-at-schools-by/5274232
Victorian Government Better Health – Sugar
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Sugar
Exploratorium – What is sugar?
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar.html
CBBC Newsround – Should we tax sugary drinks to help kids’ health?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/21241761
Dietitians Association of Australia - Sugars
http://daa.asn.au/?page_id=868
Child and Youth Health – Sugar
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=284&id=2685
©ABC 2014

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