More than half of middle and high school students are addicted to sweet drinks and drink them more than 4 days a week

The habit of craving for sweet drinks is very common among junior and high school students. A survey by the National Health Bureau of the Department of Health found that 50% of junior high school students drink sugary drinks at least 4 days a week, and the number of high school students increases to 60%. Taking the popular bubble milk tea as an example, drinking 700 cc of bubble milk tea will consume about 550 calories, which is equivalent to drinking 61 grams of salad oil. If you drink it every day for two months during the summer vacation, you will gain 4.3 kilograms.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission stated that drinking 700 cc of pearl milk tea will consume about 550 calories, which is equivalent to drinking 61 grams of salad oil. If you drink it every day for two months during the summer vacation, you will gain 4.3 kilograms. (Photography by Zhang Yawen)

In the past two years, the National Health Administration conducted a "Survey on Health Behavior of Junior High School Students" and a "Survey on Health Behavior of High School, Vocational High School, and Technical College Students". 51.5% of junior high school students drink sugary drinks more than 4 days a week, of which 25.1% drink them every day. Boys drink sugary drinks more frequently than girls.

High school students even drink sugary drinks as if they were water, with 61.9% drinking sugary drinks more than four days a week, and 43% drinking them every day. Boys also drink sugary drinks more frequently than girls, and nearly 50% of high school boys drink sugary drinks almost every day. Regardless of whether it is junior high school or high school students, these survey data show an upward trend compared with the past.

Chen Yanfang, head of the National Health Administration's Community Health Group, said that obese children have a one-in-two chance of becoming obese adults, and obese teenagers have an even higher chance of becoming obese adults. If they do not change their sweet drink habits soon, they may become potential patients with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the future.

There are many sugary drinks on the market. Surveys show that nearly 50% of high school boys drink them almost every day. If they do not change their sweet drink habits soon, they may become potential patients with chronic diseases in the future. (Photography by Zhang Yawen)

Chen Yanfang said that commercially available canned drinks are easy to obtain, but whether it is soda, lemon tea, orange juice, or coffee, 500 cc contains about 200 calories. If you drink one bottle a day, you will gain about 1.5 kilograms in 2 months. It is recommended that people develop the habit of carrying boiled water or choose sugar-free tea.

As for ice cream milk tea and pearl milk tea, the calories are as high as 440~550 calories. If you drink them every day, you will gain up to 3.4~4.3 kilograms in weight in 2 months. She pointed out that most hand-shaken drinks can be customized. People can choose sugar-free or lightly sugared drinks, or replace them with less sweet grass jelly or agar-agar. They can also choose small cups of drinks instead of large ones to reduce excessive calorie intake.