COULD you stop drinking fizzy drinks for 28 days?

Well, a new campaign has launched - Fizz Free February - to encourage everyone to ditch fizzy drinks to improve their health.

Somerset County Council (SCC) is backing the campaign in a bid to raise awareness of the health implications of drinking fizzy drinks, which often contain a high amount of sugar.

Latest data from Public Health England, shows that sugar now makes up 13.5% of four to 10-year-olds and 14.1% of teenagers’ daily calorie intake respectively, while the official recommendation is to limit sugar to no more than 5%.

Cllr Clare Paul, SCC cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “I am so pleased Somerset is supporting Fizz Free February. It is a fantastic way to cut down on sugar and make positive changes.

“My son and I will be doing our best to take a moment to think about our drinks choices through Fizz Free February. Good luck to everyone else who going fizz free.”

To join in, all you need to do is give up fizzy drinks for 28 days.

According to SCC, here are the benefits you could enjoy from going fizz free:

  • You could save £438 a year if you stopped drinking one bottle of soft drink, per day for a year
  • Drinking just one 330ml can of fizzy drink a day could add up to over a stone 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 due to tooth decay – in other words, 500 each week.

For more reasons to quit fizzy drinks visit the Fizz Free February website at https://www.sugarsmartuk.org/news/jan22-fizz-free-february.