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Healthy Children, Healthy Weights

Hours
Mon - Fri
9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Contact

Hannah Bills
HCHW Program Director
614-645-1224
hbbills@columbus.gov   

Alyssa Dorsey
HCHW Program Manager
614-645-0261
aldorsey@columbus.gov

Ali Segna
Growing Healthy Kids Columbus
Chair
614-645-5310 
amsegna@columbus.gov

Water First For Thirst Campaign

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Promote Water First For Thirst!

Water First for Thirst is more than just a message, it is a movement to make water the easy, appealing, first choice for children and families.

WHY WATER FIRST FOR THIRST?

  • Americans consume almost 50 gallons of sugary drinks a year – that equals 38 pounds of sugar!
  • More than 38% of toddlers (age 21-24 months) consumed sugary sweetened beverages at least one time a day in the U.S.
  • Every serving of sugary drinks a child consumes increases his or her chances of becoming overweight or obese by about 60%.
  • For adults, consuming 1 or more sugary drinks each day increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by about 25%.
  • In 2009-2010, about 40% of Ohio’s 3rd graders were consuming 2 or more sugary drinks a day.
  • Soft drinks are the food most strongly linked to increased rates of obesity and risk for diabetes.

WFFT Link to ToolsWHAT CAN YOU DO?

Change What You Serve

  • Serve water at events and meetings. Make it visible and easy to reach.
  • Make water freely available to your employees and customers and promote it!
  • Require at least half of beverage vending slots to be filled with water and make water cheaper than other beverages. Download sample vending contract language.
  • Place water in the most visible location including the most visible vending slots.
  • Limit the portion sizes of sugary drinks that can be sold in your facility.

Change the Message You Send

  • Eliminate ads and logos for sugary drinks (including commercial television).
  • Avoid grants and funding opportunities supported by beverage companies.
  • When planning new advertising, show people drinking water.
  • Add the Water First for Thirst messages to your own marketing efforts.

  • Use the Water First for Thirst! Tools.

Commit to Making the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice

  • Establish written policies to ensure that your Water First for Thirst efforts will be long lasting. 
  • More examples of policy, system, and environmental changes to promote water first for thirst.

Water First for Thirst! PowerPoint Presentation

Water First for Thirst! ToolsWater First For Thirst Tools

References:

  1. Ogden et all, Consumption of Sugar Drinks on the United States 2005-2008.
  2. SIEGA-RIZ AM; DEMING DM;  REIDY KC; FOX MK; CONDON E; BRIEFEL RR. Food and Consumption Patterns of Infants and Toddlers: Where are we now? J AM Diet Assoc. 2010;110:S38-S51.
  3. Ludwig DS, Peterson KE, Gortmaker SL. Relation between consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks and childhood obesity: a prospective, observational analysis. Lancet 2001; 357: 505-08.
  4. Malik VS, et al. Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2010; 33:2477–2483.
  5. Ohio Department of Health, A Report on the Body Mass Index of Ohio’s Third Graders 2004–2010.
  6. Vartanian LR, Schwartz MB, Brownell KD. Effects of soft drink consumption on nutrition and health: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Public Health. 2007 Apr;97(4):667-75. Epub 2007 Feb 28.