Water plays an important role in dental care
Governments all over the world are encouraging consumers to drink more water and less high calorie drinks in an effort to curb the relentless rise in obesity levels. As a calorie free drink, bottled water has already played a role in lowering general calorie intake – and higher bottled water availability in the future would do more to help people tackle weight gain problems.
According to recent WHO estimates, approximately 1.6 billion adults aged over 15 years were overweight across the globe in 2005, and at least 400 million of these were obese. At least 20 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight. WHO projects that by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million of these will be obese.
In England and Scotland in 2005, 22% of men and 24% of women were classified as obese. Obesity in children is now common. In Scotland, nearly one in five (18%) of boys and over one in ten (14%) of girls aged 2–15 years are obese.
Obesity is responsible for 9,000 premature deaths each year in England and reduces life expectancy by, on average, nine years. Around 58% of type 2 diabetes cases, 21% of heart disease cases and between 8% to 42% of certain cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon) are attributable to excess body fat.
Non-fatal, but debilitating problems associated with obesity include: respiratory and sleep difficulties; skin problems; endocrine problems; osteoarthritis and other musculoskeletal problems; low self-esteem and poor body image; and discrimination, prejudice and bullying.
Lowering calorie intake
Obesity is a preventable condition. Its fundamental cause is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. There has been a surge in weight-loss programmes in recent years, for those people taking action against their own rising weight. For children, there have been specific policy actions by governments and their bodies. A ban on food and beverages high in fat, salt and sugar from meals and vending machines in English schools took effect from the start of the school year in September 2006. Similar legislation was introduced in Northern Irish schools from September 2007, whilst under the schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) Bill in Scotland, councils have to ensure that all the food and drink they provide complies with nutritional standards.
Bottled water helping to reduce calorie intake
Bottled water growth over the past decade has been driven by the increased acceptance by the British population of bottled water as a real alternative to traditional, high calorie soft drinks. This has been spurred by rising awareness of the growing problem of obesity in the UK population, and media interest on the high consumption of sugary soft drinks by children. Carbonated soft drinks volumes have declined as consumers turn to other segments, notably natural and healthier products, such as fruit juice and bottled water.
According to Zenith International, bottled water's share of the soft drinks market increased from 5.8% in 1991 to 15.9% in 2006, while that of carbonated soft drinks fell from 50.1% to 41.8%. Within the last two years, the growth in bottled water has near enough mirrored the decline in carbonated soft drinks. In 2006, an extra 125 million litres of bottled water was consumed, while 140 million litres less carbonated soft drinks were consumed.
Consumer research has also found that bottled water is often a replacement for carbonated soft drinks or other high calorie beverages.
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