You Are What You Drink
Behavioral goal: Adolescent girls will replace consumption of soda and other highly
sweetened beverages with increased water consumption.
General educational objectives: Adolescent girls will be able to:

Describe the risks of soda and other sweetened beverage consumption and the
benefits of drinking water

Evaluate their current consumption habits

Identify barriers to increasing water consumption

Express positive attitudes toward increased water consumption

State intention to increase consumption of water and reduce consumption of soda
and other sweetened beverages
Overview of Content:
1.
Introduction, overview, ground rules (2 min.)
2.
Fill out worksheets—log beverage consumption and physical activity level (5 min.)
3.
Demonstration of amount of sugar in drinks (5 min.)
4.
Use worksheets to assess personal sugar consumption in drinks (5 min.)
5.
Brainstorm and use newsprint to record risks of high-sugar beverage consumption
and benefits of water consumption (7 min.)
6.
Use worksheets to assess cost of drink consumption (10 min.)
7.
Divide into two groups: High-level sweetened beverage consumers brainstorm
barriers to reducing consumption and record on newsprint; low-level consumers
brainstorm ways to increase water consumption and record on newsprint (7 min.)
8.
Regroup and share results (5 min.)
9.
Goal setting (7 min)
Materials:
Worksheets
Pencils
Calculators (at least 4)
Empty drink containers: Coke bottle, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Snapple, Tropicana
Orange Juice, Dole Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
Sugar
Teaspoon
Newsprint
Markers
Procedure
1.
Introduction, overview, ground rules (2 min.)
Hi. We are here today to discuss nutrition topics that are important to you based on the
questionnaires you filled out a few weeks ago. We are going to look at why we should
reduce soda and other sugary drink consumption and why we should increase water
consumption and the ways to do that.
We are really excited to be back and we want this to be a fun and informative
afternoon. We encourage everyone to participate, so please feel free to raise your
hands and ask questions. Also, we want you all to feel comfortable, so let’s all help to
keep a positive environment in here.
2.
Fill out worksheets—log beverage consumption and physical activity level (5 min.)
We are going to begin with the drink log (see Logbook: Drinks), which has many
different parts, not all of which you can fill out right now. (Hand out worksheets.)
First, fill in the different drinks you had yesterday and the serving size. That means
you can fill out the first two columns on this side of the paper (show paper and point
out columns).
3.
Demonstration of amount of sugar in drinks (5 min.)
We brought in six different drinks that are commonly sold in corner stores and that you
might often choose to drink. Raise your hands if you wrote that you drank one of these
drinks yesterday.
I am going to need a volunteer. (Ask volunteer to come up to measure amounts of
sugar in drinks.) Using this teaspoon and sugar, count off the number of teaspoons of
sugar that you think are in this Coke bottle, putting it into this bowl. (Ask the group if
they think there is more or less. Then let them know the actual amount. Another
volunteer does the same thing for a 20-oz Mountain Dew, and the process continues
until all the containers have sugar in the bowls in front of them.)
Coke bottle: 15 teaspoons
Mountain Dew 20-oz bottle: 19 teaspoons
Gatorade: 8 teaspoons
Snapple, lemon flavor, 1 bottle: 10 teaspoons
Dole Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice: 12 teaspoons
Tropicana Original Orange Juice, 1-pint carton: 9 teaspoons
Ask the group: Who is surprised by these results? Why are you surprised? Did you
think it would be less? More? A short discussion should follow.
4.
Use worksheets to assess personal sugar consumption in drinks (5 min.)
Let’s pull out the worksheets again and fill in the third column of the drink log with the
amount of sugar in each drink. Total up the column. We have a few calculators, or you
can use your cell phone calculator. The total is the amount of sugar you drank
yesterday. Now take that number and multiply by 7, and that is the total amount of
sugar you drink in a week. Finally, take that number and multiply it by 52, and that is
the total amount of sugar you drink in a year, which is the total in teaspoons. If you
want to know how many pounds of sugar you drink in a year, take the final number
and divide by 96 (96 teaspoons in 1 pound). (If energy drinks are consumed, use Red
Bull as the standard: 10 teaspoons in 8.3 fluid oz.)
For example, if you had just one Mountain Dew 20-oz bottle a day, that is 1.4
pounds of extra sugar a week and over 72 extra pounds of sugar a year!
Ask someone to share the amount and if they think that is a lot or a little. Allow
time for discussion, including probing questions such as, if yesterday was not a typical
day, do you think you drink more or less? What about on the weekends? Could your
amount be even higher or lower?
Let the group know that girls aged 12 to 19 drink an average of 1.7 cans of soda a
day, which equals 621 cans a year!
(http://resources.modental.org/pdf/Health/STP/STP_Display_Materials.pdf)
5.
Brainstorm and use newsprint to record risks of high-sugar beverage consumption and
benefits of water consumption (7 min.)
Now we have an idea about how much sugar is in some of the drinks we drink every
day and how quickly that can add up. Let’s make a list of some of the reasons why
drinking lots of sugary drinks can be bad for us. What do you think are some of the
reasons not to drink many sugary drinks? (Record all the reasons on newsprint. While
they are talking, we will make sure that the following topics are mentioned.)
Weight gain (drinking one 20-oz soda a day is enough extra calories to gain 27
pounds in a year)
(http://resources.modental.org/pdf/Health/STP/STP_Display_Materials.pdf)
Dental caries
Reduce intake of calcium (due to lower milk consumption)
Lack of other nutrients
Chemicals
Share facts such as that for every soft drink or sugar-sweetened beverage you drink
every day, your obesity risk appears to jump 60%. That means you are 60% more
likely to become an obese adult when you choose to drink soda every day.
Of course, not all sugary beverages are the same. Soda is just carbonated water,
sugar, and flavoring. Even though juice is made from fruit, many juice drinks contain a
lot of added sugar. If you like juice, choose 100% juice drinks, which provide
important vitamins, like vitamin C, and do not add sugar to the mix. The Tropicana
orange juice we used earlier is 100% juice and had 9 teaspoons, whereas the Dole
Ruby Red with added sugar had a total of 12 teaspoons. Remember, though, that
because of the high sugar content and calories, it is important to limit the amount to
about one cup (8 oz) a day.
Eating whole fruits is even better because the whole fruit provides many other
benefits, such as fiber, and is more filling. I prefer to eat my calories rather than drink
them! The amount of calories in the pint is equal to eating four whole oranges.
After a thorough list is made of risks, on a separate sheet of newsprint, let’s make
a list of benefits of drinking water. How many of you drink water every day (raise
hands)? What do you think are some reasons why our bodies need water? What are
some reasons why we should all drink water? (Discussion will follow and we will
make sure that the following topics are mentioned.)
Vital nutrient (55–75% of total body weight)
Hydration
No calories
Fluoride for teeth (tap water)
Enhanced performance during exercise
No cost
No additives
(End this activity with the following scenario, asking the girls to close their eyes.)
Now imagine that you are in the shower and instead of water coming out, soda begins
to flow. Think about how different that shower would feel (pause for a moment). If
you don’t want it on the outside of your body, are you sure you want it on the inside?
Everybody open your eyes now.
6.
Use worksheets to assess cost of drink consumption (10 min.)
When you choose to buy a drink (or any product), you are supporting that company by
giving them your money. Most of you probably can’t vote yet, but you can have a
voice by choosing how you spend your money. You can vote with your dollars. It is
important to be informed about where our money goes.
In 1997, Americans spent $54 billion to buy 14 billion gallons of soda
(http://resources.modental.org/pdf/Health/STP/STP_Display_Materials.pdf). There are
many ways to spend that $54 billion!
Let’s use the drink log again and look at how much of our money we spend on
these drinks. Fill in the last column, which is headed “price.” This refers to the price
you paid for each drink. If you did not pay for the drink, then just put in zero. Total the
amount of money you paid for drinks yesterday. Just as we figured out our sugar
consumption, after you find the total amount you spent yesterday, multiply that by 7 to
find out how much you spend in a week. Then multiply that number by 52 to find out
the total amount you spend in a year. If you need to use our calculators, raise your
hand and we will come around and help.
Let’s hear a few different people’s totals. Did you think you were spending more
or less? How do you feel about spending your money this way? Why?
7.
Discuss barriers: Have those who are high-level sweetened beverage consumers
discuss barriers to reducing consumption and record on newsprint; low-level
consumers describe their helpful strategies (7 min.)
Barriers might include the following:
Taste
Caffeine addiction
Convenience
Habituation
Only drink in the house
It is the normal drink
Popular
8.
Water as an alternative
Now let’s hear from the group about reasons to choose water. These might include the
following:
Cheap price
Availability
Carry water bottle
Know it is healthier to drink water
Feel good when drink it
Quenches thirst
After listing the difficulties of reducing intake and the benefits of drinking water,
do you think it would be hard or easy for you to drink fewer sugary drinks? Does it
seem realistic to decrease your soda and sugary drink consumption and increase water
consumption? Why? Why not?
9.
Goal setting (7 min.)
We are also handing out a sheet that says “My Commitment” on the top (see SelfContract). This sheet has some drink choices that you can make that will help you
incorporate some of the changes we discussed today into your life. This commitment
will serve as your action plan and will help you to focus on meeting your goal for this
next week. Please mark each goal that you want to work on (commit to) in this coming
week. Also, flip over the sheet to see the calendar on the back of your commitment
(Calendar: My Action Plan). Use this calendar to keep track of your progress next
week and mark off the days that you meet your goals. Once you have chosen your
goals, sign the form showing your commitment. Have one of the other girls sign as a
witness.
(Nutrition educator will read each goal and have girls raise hands as to who will
commit to that goal.) Tell girls: Look around to see who is making the same
commitments and remember that it is important to have support when you are making
a change.
10.
Distribute water bottles and instructor wrap-up (5 min.)
We want to thank you all for participating today, and besides the handouts that we
have given you to take home, we have water bottles that we hope you will like. They
will be easy enough to carry around so that you can save money and help your body by
drinking water throughout the day instead of sugary drinks. Don’t forget that it is
important to rehydrate after exercise so that your body gets the most benefits. There is
a water fountain for you to use on your way out (give directions). Thank you for
having us today and for participating!
Source: Shanahan, S., and J. Belasco. 2005, November. Session with adolescent girls in an
after-school program. New York, NY.