gulp is a new campaign from Food Active-Rochdale which aims to raise awareness of the health harms associated with over consumption of sugary drinks.

While many people are aware of the negative impact that sugary drinks have on teeth, fewer are aware of the link between the over consumption of sugary drinks, weight gain and diabetes which can cause the loss of limbs in later life. Lots of sugary drinks do not contain natural sugars- man made sugars are not good for our bodies. Gulp seeks to change this by educating our children to make the right choices. Children will be given a water bottle- they are encouraged to STOP drinking sugary drinks for 30 days and replace it with drinking more water. Children need to be taught healthy routines and lifestyles- why not join in the challenge with your child and give up POP. The children worked well on their 30 day challenge drinking only water and milk. They received a certificate and a visit from Councillor Alan Brett and Rochelle the Healthy Superhero Mascot from Rochdale. 

We have be conducting an experiment in assembly where we placed 3 eggs into different liquids- one in cola, one in orange juice and one in water- here are the results.

The shell on the egg that had been in coke was brown and had dissolved, the shell of the egg in orange had  peeled off and flaked and the egg had doubled in size because of the acid. The egg in the water remained the same and cracked open as a shell should. This experiment showed us what the sugar in drinks does to your teeth and the inside of your body along with the additional sugar turning into fat. If you do drink pure fruit juices because they have lots of vitamins and they help your body to absorb iron, make sure you drink them at meal times to protect your teeth and enable the acid to be digested along with your food. 

We hope this challenge has made you think about the drinks you are choosing and how much sugar there is  in them. The next challenge is to look at the cereals we are eating and how much sugar they contain!

Councillor Allan Brett, Leader of the Council, visited school on Monday as we are the first school in Rochdale to complete the GULP challenge and he wanted to see how it went! We also welcomed Ruth Bardsley, Public Health Programme Officer, who is leading the GULP Challenge within school and “Rochelle”, the Rochdale Healthy Superhero Mascot! Councillor Brett was very impressed with how the children had embraced the GULP Challenge. He also saw how the children in Explorers Class have learnt to brush their teeth as part of the Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership Early Years Supervised Toothbrushing Programme.