Major health orgs applaud NSW Health kicking the sugar habit
June 08, 2017
An alliance of Australia’s leading health and community organisations has congratulated NSW Health for announcing it will phase out sugary drinks from all of its facilities in the next six months as part of its Healthy Choices in Health Facilities policy.
CEO of Diabetes Australia, Greg Johnson said it was important for health facilities to lead by example and provide healthier options for patients, staff and visitors.
“There is absolutely no nutritional benefit in drinking sugary drinks, in fact it is the opposite – there is a strong link between consuming these drinks and weight gain, which leads to chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers as well as dental problems,” Mr Johnson said.
“In Australia the direct cost of obesity to the healthcare system is $3.8 billion . It doesn’t make sense to be treating people in the same facilities where we are selling items that could have contributed to their health conditions in the first place.
“We would encourage all other state and territories to follow NSW’s lead; we know there is great appetite for this type of initiative at all levels of government.”
Next week the Rethink Sugary Drink alliance is hosting a sell-out event for local councils to learn more about tackling sugary drink consumption and availability in their communities.
The forum, Sugar Hit - Ideas for your municipal health and well-being plan, is being held on Tuesday 13th June at Cancer Council Victoria. For details and to register click here.
CEO of Diabetes Australia, Greg Johnson said it was important for health facilities to lead by example and provide healthier options for patients, staff and visitors.
“There is absolutely no nutritional benefit in drinking sugary drinks, in fact it is the opposite – there is a strong link between consuming these drinks and weight gain, which leads to chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers as well as dental problems,” Mr Johnson said.
“In Australia the direct cost of obesity to the healthcare system is $3.8 billion . It doesn’t make sense to be treating people in the same facilities where we are selling items that could have contributed to their health conditions in the first place.
“We would encourage all other state and territories to follow NSW’s lead; we know there is great appetite for this type of initiative at all levels of government.”
Next week the Rethink Sugary Drink alliance is hosting a sell-out event for local councils to learn more about tackling sugary drink consumption and availability in their communities.
The forum, Sugar Hit - Ideas for your municipal health and well-being plan, is being held on Tuesday 13th June at Cancer Council Victoria. For details and to register click here.