Sports drinks - if they have a justification at all - are for people playing serious sport. According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), they are useful only for "active individuals performing endurance exercise". That is not even a half-hearted kick-about of a ball in a park, let alone the spectator sport of watching the World Cup from the sofa.
But according to a survey, a third of teenagers drink Lucozade, Powerade or other brands while being completely unphysical - at the cinema, watching TV or playing computer games. The survey was of only just over 1000 young people aged 13 to 17, but it fits with what we know - that sports drinks are marketed to young people and widely drunk by them on all sorts of non-sporting occasions. Only 16% of the young people said they consumed sports drinks during or after intense physical exercise.
Sports drinks contain 16 to 18 grams of sugar in every 500ml, which is at least four teaspoons, as well as salt. Coca Cola, Pepsi, Sprite and the rest of the sugar-sweetened fizzy drinks are still worse - there are 53 grams of sugar in the same sized bottle of Coca Cola, for instance, or 13 teaspoons. Either is a really bad idea if we are to take the latest draft recommendation from SACN, the government's scientific advisory committee on nutrition, seriously. They said we should aim to restrict our sugar intake to around 5 grams a day or less.
This survey is a shot across the bows of the sports drinks industry by the Natural Hydration Council, which is funded by the major bottled water companies. They are: Brecon Carreg Natural Mineral Water, Danone Waters (UK & Ireland) Ltd, Highland Spring Group, Iceni Waters, Nestlé Waters UK, Ty Nant, Water Brands Group and Wenlock Spring. They make up 50% of the UK bottled water industry.
So there is a sense in which this is a skirmish in the bottled drinks wars, but they have a point - water is far better for you. And although they promote bottled water on their website, they are happy, when asked, to say that tap water will do just as well.
It has to be a good thing that anybody is agitating for drinking water, even with vested interests behind them. Surprisingly, the Eatwell plate promoted by NHS Choices does not specify water of any description as the first choice to drink, although I understand that is under review.
