Beverages sold at tea shops should be labeled to display their sugar and calorie content, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜) said yesterday.
Tea-based drinks are popular in Taiwan, but have led to many “chubby kids” and place a severe burden on the national health system amid an increasing number of people with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome, she said.
“It is surprising to find out that teenagers in Taiwan on average drink one sweetened beverage per day, but they are not aware that drinking just one serving exceeds the daily recommended level for added sugars,” Kao told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
One 700ml cup of pearl milk tea with a full serving of sugar has a sugar content of 62g, which is equivalent to 248 calories, she said.
This exceeds the one-10th level recommended by health authorities, meaning that if a person requires a daily intake of 2,000 calories, the calories obtained from sugar should not exceed 200 calories, Kao said.
“Excessive intake of added sugars has been shown to result in obesity, as well as increased rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and cancer,” she said.
In 2015, 1.4 million people in Taiwan were treated for diabetes, Kao said, adding that the number rose to 1.65 million last year.
Teenagers aged 13 to 15 on average consume 6.7 servings of sweetened beverages per week, with half of them having more than seven servings a week and 12.8 percent having one to two servings, while only 6.1 percent said they do not consume any sweetened beverages, she said, citing Health Promotion Administration data.
They were followed by teenagers aged 16 to 18, who on average consumed 6.6 servings of sweetened beverages per week, with 52.8 percent having more than seven servings a week and 10.3 percent having one to two servings, while 11.1 percent said they do not consume any sweetened beverages, she said.
The lowest consumption rate was among people aged 65 or over, who on average consumed 2.1 servings of sweetened beverages per week, Kao said.
Although 41.7 percent had more than seven servings per week, 60 percent of said they do not consume any sweetened beverage, she added.
Hsieh Rong-hong (謝榮鴻), a professor at Taipei Medical University’s School of Nutrition and Health Sciences, said the data were collected through surveys from 2013 to 2016, adding that his studies suggest that consumption rates have increased since then.
Some people have the habit of drinking cold beverages, such as milk tea or smoothies, in summer, but it would be better to drink water or eat fresh fruits, Hsieh said.
Kao said the law requires tea shops to inform their customers on sugar and calorie content of the drinks, but most businesses skirt the requirement by printing the figures on small posters in their stores.
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