Dump the sugar

Wyndham residents are being encouraged to put themselves to the test and see if they can replace sugary drinks with water for 30 days.

Wyndham City has teamed up with health promotion foundation VicHealth to encourage local residents to sign up for the H30 Challenge to improve their health.

Wyndham City Councillor Mia Shaw leads the Family Friendly City Portfolio, which is responsible for supporting community health.

Cr Shaw said Wyndham City was one of 18 Victorian Councils to sign up to the H30 Challenge.

“By taking on the H30 Challenge, Wyndham residents could make a big difference to their health,” Cr Shaw said.

“A regular bottle of soft drink contains about 16 teaspoons of sugar and there are about 11 teaspoons in a sports drink. The H30 Challenge encourages people to cut out these and other sugary drinks, including energy drinks, fruit drinks, ready-to-drink iced tea, flavoured water and cordial.”

“The latest figures show that 25 per cent of Wyndham residents are classified as obese, which is higher than the Victorian average of 19 per cent. Type 2 diabetes is also more common in Wyndham, with 6.2 per cent of adults being diagnosed with the condition.”

“That’s why something like the H30 Challenge is so important. If we can encourage people to take little steps that could improve their health then we will have made a positive impact in Wyndham.”

“We are all big water drinkers in my house. I try to drink one to two litres of water every day and I carry a water bottle with me when I’m at work, so I don’t get tempted to grab a sugary drink during the day.”

To sign up to the H30 challenge visit h30challenge.com.au/lga/wyndham.