The ‘Rethink Your Drink- Traffic Lights’ video from ARC’s HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Lifestyles) Campaign has been selected for Australia’s Rethink Sugary Drinks Critics’ Choice Awards. The video got selected as one of the best nine from around the world amongst the many videos portraying negative health impacts associated with regular consumption of sugary drinks.
The selected video from the HEAL Campaign message ‘Rethink Your Drink’- uses a simple to understand “Traffic Light’ concept to teach children about healthy and unhealthy drinks. It teaches children to stop drinking caffeinated drinks (including tea, coffee, cola and energy drinks), as well as to limit sugary drinks (such as fizzy drinks, sugar-added fruit juice and flavored milk), and encourages children to drink plain milk and plenty of water.
Critics’ Choice is an initiative by Rethink Sugary Drinks, a partnership between 18 health and community organizations from Australia with an aim to reduce consumption of sugary drinks and encourage the switch to healthier options like water, and milk. The nine selected videos will be shown to students at all schools across Australia, with an intention to start a conversation about the negative impacts of consuming sugary drinks. They will then vote for the video they think is the most effective at urging young people to reduce their sugar intake.
Regular consumption of sugary drinks is harmful to children’s teeth, can lead to weight gain, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart and kidney disease, stroke and some cancers. . It is ARC’s hope that this initiative succeeds to raise awareness and contributes towards the universal goal of reducing the consumption of sugary drinks and raise awareness among children and families to make a healthier switch.