The bitter side to fizzy drinks

A recent study – Cross-sectional survey of the amount of sugar and calories in carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages on sale in the UK – reveals that the sugar content in carbonated sugar-sweetened beverages (CSSB) was found to be alarmingly high – with large variation in sugar content between different flavours and within the same type of flavour ranging from 3.3 to 52.8 g/330 mL – equivalent to 12 teaspoons.

On average, ginger beer (38.5±9.9 g/330 mL) contained the highest amounts of sugar and ginger ale (22.9±7.7 g/330 mL) contained the lowest amount of sugar.

Cola flavour contained 35.0±1.1 g/330 mL of free sugar, ranging from 32.0 to 37.3 g/330 mL. The supermarket own brand contained lower levels of sugars than branded products (27.9±10.6 vs 31.6±10.6 g/330 mL). Whilst cola flavour is the most popular flavour in the UK, with an average sugar content of 35.0±1.1 g/330 mL, owing to the huge volume consumed, even small reductions would have a significant impact on sugar and calorie intake of the population.