Gemma Saylor, RD, CDN

Mather Hospital

Healthy Heart Program Director

Rethink Your Drink @ Work is a grant-funded program based out of Mather Hospital.

◦The grant is funded by the New York State Department of Health – Healthy Heart Program and expires March 2015.

◦The free program is available to any private business located in Suffolk county with 25+ employees.

The purpose of the grant is to create healthy workplaces/spaces where the healthy beverage choice is the easy choice.

It is about making the best choice (water, seltzer) the most visible and the most accessible beverage.

Because what you drink matters.

Sugary drinks are

the single

biggest contributor

to the nation’s

obesity epidemic.

Why do we care about healthier beverage choices?

Are You Pouring on the Pounds? How to cut back on soda, juice and other sugary beverages. New York City Health Department, June 2010.

Source: Bleich, SN, Wang YC, Wang Y, Gortmaker SL: Increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among US adults: 1988-1994 to 1999-2004. Am J Clin Nutr 2009; 89: 372:381.

In NYS, the numbers are alarming

• Now 6 in 10 New York State adults are either overweight or obese.

• Total obesity-related healthcare costs in New York State are more than $11.8 billion annuallyUp from $7.6B in 2009.

6

Warning!

Daily intake of added sugar for an adult woman should be no more than 6 teaspoons, and no more than 9 teaspoons for adult men.

7

Warning!

Just one 20 oz bottle of Pepsi has 17 tsp of sugar, which far exceeds the American Heart Association’s

daily maximum intake levels.

Diabetes Heart disease High blood pressure Asthma Infertility

Stroke Arthritis Liver disease Cancer Depression

Are You Pouring on the Pounds? How to cut back on soda, juice and other sugary beverages. New York City Health Department, June 2010.

Obesity contributes to many serious health problems

Consumption of sweet beverages and type 2 diabetes incidence in European adults: results from EPIC-InterAct. Diabetologia. 2013 Jul;56(7):1520-30. doi: 10.1007/s00125-013-2899-8. Epub 2013 Apr 26.

Classifying Drinks: Red, Yellow, Green

Drink Rarely, if at all

Drink Occasionally

Drink Plenty

Water Seltzer water Skim (non-fat) or 1% milk

Drink Plenty

Are You Pouring on the Pounds? How to cut back on soda, juice and other sugary beverages. New York City Health Department, June 2010.

Soda Energy drinks Sweetened iced tea Sweetened coffee drinks Lemonade Fruit drinks or punch

Sports drinks Powdered drinks Sweetened flavored waters Malt drinks

Drink Rarely, if at all

100% juice Diet (artificially sweetened) soda and drinks Low-calorie, low sugar drinks

Diet Drinks:While there is strong evidence to support cutting back on sugary drinks, the science is not as clear when it come to diet (artificially sweetened) drinks and weight control. In fact, regular consumption of diet beverages may even be associated with weight gain.

Diet drinks may be useful as a transition step away from sugar sweetened beverages, but consumption is not encouraged over the long term.

Choose drinks that are naturally free of added sugars, and artificial sweeteners, most often.

Drink Occasionally

Sugary drinks are available everywhere. ◦ Where are they not available?!

Marketers advertise them heavily.◦ In 2010 alone, The Coca-Cola Company spent $2.9 billion on

advertising*

Portion sizes keep growing.

Are You Pouring on the Pounds? How to cut back on soda, juice and other sugary beverages. New York City Health Department, June 2010* Business Insider - http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-about-coca-cola-2011-6?op=1

Stock the fridge with seltzer, unsweetened tea, low-fat milk and other low-calorie drinks.

Serve cold tap water during meals. NYS tap water is delicious, clean and free!

Read labels. Choose drinks with no more than 40 calories per container.

If you buy fruit juice, make sure it’s 100% juice. Serve it in a small glass or dilute with water.

… But we spend most of our day at WORK!

To make the work environment a place where a healthy beverage is the most available and the most visible choice…

… so that it also becomes the easiest choice.

We have to create environments and routines that make us more likely to make healthier decisions…

without even noticing.

Five possible strategies available to worksites◦ Encourage water consumption◦ Offer only healthy beverages at meetings◦ Improve vending options (offer more healthy options and limit rows of

sugary drinks)◦ Limit sale of sugar sweetened beverages in cafeterias and other places

where food is available◦ Price adjustments

All of these strategies can be supported with signage/posters provided by Rethink Your Drink @ Work.

This is a poster, provided by Rethink Your Drink @ Work,

that would be placed by vending machines or in

areas where sugary drinks are available for sale.

Complete a brief survey that will be forwarded to you by email

Vote on which changes, if any, you would like to see at your worksite

Rethink Your Drink @ Work does not force change on any worksite.

We aim to provide valuable information, allowing you to make the informed decisions.

For more information, visitwww.rethinkyourdrinksuffolk.org