Helping Kids Avoid Harmful Sugar

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By Dr. Patricia Braun, MD, MPH, FAAP

Campaign For Dental Health 

SaludToday Guest Blogger

We often hear about different ways to eat. More protein, less protein, more fat, less fat. It

can be confusing. One thing isn’t confusing: we need to reduce the amount of sugar we eat and drink.  Added sugars are playing a bigger and bigger role in making our nation unhealthy.  Consuming added sugar causes cavities, weight gain and obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Tooth decay is the most common chronic condition in childhood and leads to pain, tooth loss, a lower quality of life, and is expensive to treat. And obesity, in our nation’s children has become an enormous health problem, especially for Latino children.

Children get much more sugar every day than they should, and the majority of it comes from sugar-sweetened beverages including soda, juice, and sports drinks. While kids love them, these drinks do them no good. We want to encourage our children to drink water and 2-3 glasses of milk (or other calcium- and vitamin D-rich drink) instead. But that can be hard.

Parents can help kids enjoy water instead of sugary-sweetened beverages by drinking water with them. Modeling healthy habits for our children is one of the best gifts we can give them. Keep  water in the refrigerator or slip a few pieces of fruit into a pitcher to give it some added flavor. Carry reusable bottles that are easy to fill with water. Drinking fluoridated water provides the extra bonus of strengthening teeth so they are less likely to develop cavities.

Try it. My patients’ parents who have been able to cut out sugar-sweetened beverages have seen their kids maintain a healthier weight and have healthier teeth.  They feel great knowing that they are helping their children avoid preventable problems like diabetes and tooth decay. Kids can’t do it by themselves—they need us to lead the way.