According to recent data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), fewer Australians are choosing sweetened beverages than a decade ago. The findings from the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey show that the proportion of people who drank sweetened beverages fell from 49.2% in 1995 to 42.2% in 2011–12 and then to 28.9% in 2023. As for children, three in four drank sweetened beverages in 1995. This figure has since fallen to one in four children in 2023. People who consumed sweetened beverages by age; 1995 – 2023 James Eynstone-Hinkins, ABS head of health statistics, said: “Today’s data gives us a comprehensive snapshot of Australia’s nutrition, with new insights into what we’re eating, our energy intakes and the types of diets we follow.” ABS classifies sweetened beverages as beverages that contain added sugar (i.e. sugar-sweetened), artificial sweeteners (i.e. intense-sweetened), or both. Sweetened beverages also include diet drinks – so anything labelled ‘zero, diet or lite’ falls within the scope. These beverages are an example of ‘discretionary choices’ in our diets, which are food and drinks that are high in energy, saturated fat, salt or sugar and have low levels of essential nutrients. The findings show that one third (31.3%) of daily energy intake came from discretionary food and drinks in 2023, down from 35.4% in 2011–12. Why sweetened drinks are getting the boot People may avoid consuming certain foods for a wide variety of reasons. For example, according to the survey, 7.1% of people 2 years and older avoided food because of allergies and 5.3% of people 15 years and over were vegetarian or vegan. Queensland-based Monique Jeremiah, Founder of Diversity Models, gave up sweetened drinks to take better care of her health. She said: “I have elected to drink more water each day, 1 coffee per day (with honey) and make my own fruit juice at home and sparkling juices (with just mineral water) as a means to keep myself in good shape.” “I used to drink one soft drink a day along with one glass of supermarket fruit juice, but I realise I didn’t know how much sugar is in them. So now, being aware of what I consume is a more conscious decision. It helps me to lead my company better and be a good role model for our models.” For New South Wales-based lawyer and Director of Empower Law Group, Oliver Morrisey, the decision to eliminate sweetened drinks was about improving mental health. ” I experienced that my mental health improved tremendously after giving up all the sweetened drinks, including flavoured coffee, in just 30 days,” he said. New South Wales-based Founder of the uForage app says her trajectory away from sweetened drinks started during Lent. “Although I wasn’t religious, I wondered what I could give up that would be a challenge for me and I decided on soft drinks. After 40 days without them, I was looking forward to my first sip until I had it and immediately thought ‘Yuck, that is TOO sweet’,” she recalled. “We’ve quit sweet drinks as a family many years ago, although with teenagers now it is tricky to uphold and they do sometimes have sugary drinks as a treat with friends,” she added. The ABS survey also identified further changes to Australian eating and drinking habits. For instance, the daily intake of free sugars made up 8.2% of total energy, within the World Health Organisation recommendation of less than 10%. Meanwhile, caffeine intake for adults increased from 158 mg in 2011–12 to 186 mg in 2023. The findings reflect a few small shifts in Australian habits with a lasting cultural impact. Data source: National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Find more food and drink news on Crumb Wire.
