A new report which gives insights into what parents of young children and teenagers themselves think about drinks has revealed that parents do not count drinks as part of their children’s daily food consumption. The report, commissioned by safefood, also revealed that parents and teenagers shared a number of similar concerns but had very different purchasing patterns in terms of where they bought drinks, what drinks they bought, and also what influenced them in making these decisions.
Commenting on the report, Dr Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, director of human health and nutrition with safefood, said: “This research clearly shows that we as consumers have a bit of a blind spot about the contribution of liquids to our daily calorie intake. Many soft drinks on the market contain a lot of ‘added’ sugars and few nutrients, for example, sweetened fruit juice drinks and fizzy soft drinks. Water, milk and pure, unsweetened fruit juice drinks are the healthiest drink options and any other drink should be seen as a ‘treat’”.
“Teenagers said they always needed ‘a drink’ while they were hanging out, watching television or socialising with one another. It also emerged that the consumption of many drinks was down to habit and what children/teenagers were used to. Many parents said they tried to reduce the number of fizzy drinks being purchased and were quite successful at doing this. When they made positive changes to the types of drinks consumed, despite some initial resistance, their children adapted and got used to it quite easily,” she added.
The report, entitled Consumer Knowledge and Practice in Relation to Drinks for Children and Young People, is available to download from the safefood website www.safefood.eu
