Sugar may be sweet, but its effects are far from. That’s why Catalyst recently joined the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s (CSPI) “Life’s Sweeter with Fewer Sugar Drinks” challenge.

Sugary drinks have contributed significantly to America’s rising weight problem. Research has demonstrated a direct link between consuming sugary bevs and the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and many other health problems. Sugary drinks account for half of all added sugars in the American diet, and about. Throughout the years, the average size of a bottle of pop has slowly skyrocketed. In the 1950s, a Coca-Cola bottle was 6.5 ounces. Today, the average bottle of coke is a whopping 20 ounces; that’s pretty intense, and that’s why we’re joining the campaign to cut down.

CSPI’s challenge is for Americans to decrease their average sugary drink intake from today’s 10 cans per week, to only three cans by 2020. We encourage you to join in, and to challenge your friends, family, classmates and coworkers as well. Here are a few ways you can work towards a “sweeter” life:

Drink fewer sugary drinks, such as colas, energy drinks, sweetened teas, and sports drinks.

• Stop serving sugary drinks, carbonated or not, to children under 6, limit them for older children, and provide healthy drink alternatives for children of all ages.
• Educate your family on the negative effects of sugary beverages and encourage them to choose healthier alternatives.
• Join with neighbors and friends to urge schools, child-care settings, after-school programs, parks, recreational facilities, pools, zoos, and other youth venues in your community to stop selling carbonated and non-carbonated sugary soft drinks and to provide access to fresh drinking water.

Cutting back on sugary bevs may not be easy, but nothing worth it is ever easy. Join the “Life’s Sweeter” challenge, and help make yourself and your community a sweeter, healthier place to be. For more info contact fewersugarydrinks@cspinet.org