Sip Smart! is an educational program that aims to teach children in grades 4 to 6 about sugary drinks and to raise their awareness of the importance of making healthy drink choices.  

Program adapted for the Province of Québec by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Québec

Adaptation and production of this program has been made possible through a financial contribution from Health Canada, through the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer; from the Public Health Agency of Canada; and from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Outline

Heart and Stroke Foundation overview

Sip Smart! program background

o Origin of the program

Program overview

o Teacher Resource Guide outline

o Addendum outline

o A few examples of activities and an interactive activity!

A quick theoretical overview

Sip Smart! BC, a program developed in British Columbia

• Program developed in British Columbia with the collaboration of teachers, nutritionists and school health professionals

• Aims to raise the awareness of children in grades 4 to 6 of the impacts of consuming sugary drinks.

• The program was piloted in 230 classrooms in British Columbia in 2008-2009

• Targeting over 6,000 students

• Shown to be both fun and effective in encouraging students to think about, and to make, healthy drink choices.

Sip Smart! Adaptation for Québec

• Program evaluated by educational experts to ensure that it meets the Québec Education Program and the Healthy Schools approach.

• A pilot project was realized in 30 schools in Québec in order to validate the program’s content

• Improvements made to the program following recommendations made by teachers and parents after the pilot project

• The program was rolled out to several targeted schools throughout the province

– Available in English and French– Copies available for health professionals in school settings– A training session will be offered at time of roll-out (Fall 2011)

Sip Smart! NB

• HSFNB partnered with Anglophone South School District (former 6, 8 and 10)

• Had SipSmart! program assessed for curriculum outcomes in Grade 4 Health, Science, Numeracy and Literacy

• Pilot program included 11 grade 4 classrooms • Pilot timeline: Oct 2012-Feb 2013

• Evaluation for teachers, students and parents • Provincial Roll out in Spring of 2013 with promotions in Fall of 2013

Sip Smart! Program Overview

• Program designed for elementary school students in grades 4, 5 and 6

• Objectives:• To teach students in grades 4 to 6 about sugary

drinks and to raise their awareness of the importance of making healthy drink choices (will be used in grade 4 classrooms in NB)

• The activities target two distinct levels:• Level 1: recommended for grade 4• Level 2: recommended for grades 5 and 6

Sip Smart! Program Overview

• The program includes 17 activities, divided into five different lessons

• The program is built on nine different key messages– Each activity integrates at least one key message

Conveys key messages

1. Some drinks don’t fit into the four food groups in Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide.

2. Sugar is a main ingredient in many popular drinks. 3. Knowing what is in drinks helps us to make healthy choices. 4. The number and size of servings we drink also affect the amount

of sugar we consume. 5. Drinking sugary drinks “bumps out“ nutritious drinks. 6. Some ingredients in sugary drinks ,other than sugar, such as acid

and caffeine, may damage our health. 7. Drink choices can be influenced by various factors, including

family, friends and the media. 8. We can decide for ourselves to make healthy drink choices. 9. Drink water – it’s always a great choice!

Teacher Resource Guide outline

The resource guide is divided as follows: 1. Introduction

• Presentation of the program along with its various sections2. Overview

• A summary of the suggested time required for each activity, the material needed as well as the nine key messages

3. Lessons (1 to 5)• Program activities; include the activities of 5 lessons for two distinct levels• Teacher resources and assessment tools available at the end of each lesson

4. Backgrounders• A summary of the core information required to teach the program

5. Extensions6. Online resources

Backgrounders

• The program includes 10 backgrounder documents• They provide useful theoretical notions required to teach the

program activities – It is best to read through the section before teaching the program

• Reference to the related backgrounder document at the beginning of the activity

Addendum

Posters : What size is your drink ? and How much sugar is in your drink?

Set of 12 laminated Drink Cut-outs with nutritional information on the back

Class set of the Sip smart! booklet to send home to families

What size is your drink?

How much sugar is in your drink?

Structure of the Teacher Guide

A few examples of activities...

• Drink Diary– Fill in three times during

the program– The compilation of

results(using the Drink Diary Calculator) allows students to follow their consumption of sugary drinks

A few examples of activities(cont’d)

• Caffeine Check− Lesson 3, activity 3

• Egg experiment− Lesson 3, activity 4 and lesson 4 activity 2

• Demonstration of results

A QUICK THEORETICAL OVERVIEW…

Did you know that…

The human body is made up of approximately 65% water

Water is essential to vital bodily functions .

Children aged 9 to 12 years old need about 8 cups (2 litres) of fluid each day!

Thirst is a sign that your body is already dehydrated.

Making healthy choicesSugary drinks

Foods (beverages) consumed DAILY

Foods (beverages) consumed

OCCASIONALLY

Rarely consumed foods (beverages)

Water *100% juice Fruit drinks(punch, cocktail)

Plain milk and milk alternatives

e.g. : unsweetened fortified soy beverage

Flavoured milk and flavoured milk alternatives

Regular or diet soft drink

* MAXIMUM serving size recommended for children : 125 mL (½ cup)/day

Sports drinkse.g. : Gatorade, Powerade

Energy drinkse.g. : Red Bull, Monster

Reference: Adapted from Vision de la saine alimentation pour la création d’environnements alimentaires favorables à la santé, Plan d’action gouvernementale de promotion des saines habitudes de vie et de prévention des problèmes reliés au poids 2006-2012 – Investir pour l’avenir, MSSS

Your turn to play!

Which categories do these drinks belong to…a) Lemonade?b) Drinkable yogurt – Yop?c) Hot chocolate ?d) Iced tea?e) Crystal Light ?

Lemonade RARELY consumed beverage

• 30 g of added sugar (approximately 7 sugar cubes) per 250 mL serving

• Tiny quantity of fruit juice

• Therefore considered a fruit drink

Drinkable yogurt OCCASIONALLY consumed beverage

• Contains natural sugar (lactose)• Contains nutrients: calcium, protein, vitamins

D et B12

• But… also contains added sugar

• Therefore considered flavoured milk

Hot chocolate RARELY consumed beverage

• 24 g of added sugar (6 sugar cubes) per 250 mL serving• Rarely made with milk

What about chocolate milk? • Beverage consumed occasionally• 8 g of added sugar (2 sugar cubes) per 250 mL serving• Contains nutrients: protein, calcium, vitamins A and D,

riboflavin and phosphorus

Iced tea RARELY consumed beverage

• 29 g of added sugar (approximately 7 sugar cubes) per 341 mL serving

• Few nutrients

• Therefore considered a soft drink (added

sugar and caffeine)

Crystal Light RARELY consumed beverage

• No added sugar, hence 0 calorie• Sweetened with artificial sweeteners• Few nutrients

• Therefore considered a diet soft drink

Artificial sweeteners

Sweetened drinks…• create a taste for sugared, non nutritious

drinks• consumed instead of healthy drinks• have a high level of acidity

Oral health

Sugary drinks and 100% juice:

• contain a lot of sugar

• are acidic

Warning !

Bacteria + sugar = Acid

Acid + teeth = Tooth decay

Added sugar

The WHO recommends < 10% of calories in the form of added sugars.= 13 sugar cubes (50 g/d)

one 355 mL soft drink can = 10-12 sugar cubes (40-48 g) !

Added sugars are ...• sugars in drinks (except plain milk and unsweetened soy beverages)• sugars in food

How do we recognize them?Sucrose, dextrose, dextrin, maltose, galactose, liquid glucose-fructose, invert

sugar, raw cane sugar, brown sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, fruit juice concentrates, honey, and molasses.

Natural or added?

Sugary drinkFruit punch (250 mL)

VS Healthy drinkMilk (250 mL)

Sugar 27 g= approximately 7 sugar cubes

12 g (lactose)

Protein 0 g 8 g

Other nutrients None Calcium, vitamins A, D, and B12, riboflavin and phosphorus

Ingredients Water, sugar/glucose-fructose, juice concentrates (grape and/or pear and/or apple, strawberry), citric acid, natural and artificial flavours, sodium citrate, colour.

Partly skimmed milk, vitamins A and D.

Natural or added?

Fruit punch(250 mL)

VS 100% juice(250 mL)

Sugar 27 g= approximately 7 sugar cubes

27 g (fructose)

Protein 0 g 0 g

Other nutrients None Vitamin C

Ingredients Water, sugar/glucose-fructose, juice concentrates (grape and/or pear and/or apple, strawberry), citric acid, natural and artificial flavours, sodium citrate, colour.

Water, juice concentrates (apple, grape), vitamin C.

Caffeine

Children aged 7-12 years old should not have more than 62.5-85 mg of caffeine each day.

* Guarana and Yerba mate are caffeine sources not listed in the caffeine

content on the product label.

Products Servings size Average caffeine content (mg)

Chocolate milk/hot chocolate

250 mL 7

Iced tea 1 can, 355 mL 25

Regular or diet cola 1 can, 355 mL 40

Black or green tea 250 mL 30

Filter coffee 250 mL 100

Iced cappuccino (small size, 284 mL) 120

Energy drink 250 mL 80-130*

Energy drinks

• Ads for energy drinks directly target young people.• They are often inappropriately linked to sports

performance.

An explosive cocktail!• Potentially harmful additives that have a stimulating

effect (guarana and taurine)

A lot of sugar

A lot of caffeine

Sports drinks

• Developed for high intensity and endurance sports.

They…– keep you hydrated,– provide the sugar needed to optimize performance,– offset the loss of electrolytes (sodium and potassium)

caused by transpiration.

• No nutritional benefit in any other type of situation• Therefore, opt for water when doing physical activity

QUESTIONS