Soft drink consumption of Grade 4 and Grade 7 learners in the Wynberg area, City of Cape Town, South Africa and the factors influencing the consumption

Abstract

Soft drinks are non-alcoholic carbonated or noncarbonated beverages vvith sweeteners and flavourings as ingredients (Popkin el ai, 2006). Sugar is a major ingredient (Jacobson, 2005:3). High soft drink consumption among children contributes to a decline in their milk and fruit juice consumption. This is a concern as some of the nutrients found in milk and fruit juice could become deficient in the child's diet (Harnack el ai, 1999). Dietary quality and quantity of energy intake are the tVvO main nutritional concerns when considering children's soft drink consumption (French el ai, 2003) as soft drinks can be labelled 'empty calories' (Johnston el ai, 2007). According to Whitney and Rolfes (1996:134), the nutrient composition of a 420 kJ serving of soft drink is 26 g carbohydrate, 6 mg calcium and traces of Iron. The current trend to fortify soft drinks with nutrients is questioned by nutritionists (Jacobson, 2005:22).