Croydon Council is taking action to lower obesity rates by supporting residents to be healthier and make smart sugar swaps like ditching fizzy drinks throughout February and drinking more water.
Residents can fill up their reusable water bottles for free at a Refill station inside a local business, making it easier for them to stay hydrated with a sugar-free beverage, while on the go. Participating businesses will display a Refill window sticker or you can find a site via the Refill app – the download details are available at www.refill.org.uk
The council is calling on more shops, businesses and organisations to become Refill stations, which is an action in the Director of Public Health’s latest annual report, to further progress the SUGAR SMART Croydon initiative and make healthier food choices easier for people in the borough.
Pledging to go fizz-free this February is beneficial as it will help people to reduce their daily sugar intake, which can reduce the risks of getting ill caused by consuming excess sugar and can also save you money.
- Drinking just one 330ml can of fizzy drink a day could add up to over a stone of weight gain per year.
- Tooth decay is the leading cause for hospitalisation among five to nine year olds in the UK, with 26,000 children being hospitalised each year with the condition, that’s 500 each week.
- You can save £438 a year if you stopped drinking one bottle of soft drink, per day for a year.
There are resources on the council’s website www.croydon.gov.uk/sugarsmart to get people started on their fizz-free journey, find out about smart sugar swaps and monitor how well they are doing.
Councillor Janet Campbell, deputy cabinet member for families, health and social care, said: “SUGAR SMART Croydon is helping communities, businesses and schools to raise awareness of the health risks of having too much sugar in your diet, which can lead to unhealthy fat developing in your body and weight gain. We are pleased to be working with the Refill scheme and Plastic Free Croydon to try to get residents to adopt healthier habits by drinking more water to improve their health and wellbeing.
“We hope more local businesses will put their water tap on the Refill map, and join thousands of others who are keeping Britain hydrated and helping to prevent plastic pollution.”
The Refill scheme benefits the local environment as when we refill a re-useable bottle, instead of buying and throwing away a single-use bottle, we reduce plastic and fuel use, save money and our towns and open spaces are cleaner too.
Residents can also find top tips to be healthier on the council’s health website at www.JustBeCroydon.org
Notes
- Refill is one of several campaigns from City to Sea, the not-for-profit organisation running campaigns to prevent marine plastic pollution. There are now over 22,000 Refill Stations around the UK registered on the free Refill app which shows you where you can refill your water bottle for free.
- Fizz-Free February was first started by Southwark Council in 2018 and it is now part of the national SUGAR SMART UK campaign to get more people to take part across the country.
