Sugar.
…how sweet to the taste bud!
Having a little snack shop with accessibility at one’s nose does not help if one wants to stay away from sweet temptations. So boys just run and pick up sweets, “pop powder” to blow away with a straw giving a cigarette type effect, or a little 50 sen sized “tub” of chocolate paste, some for as little for 30 sen. And crowd behavior can be a challenge; “my friends are buying, hmm, why not I. It’s only 30 sen”. But an analysis of content and cost to an inquisitive, analytical mind will tell another story, including future medical cost.
Imposing a ban will not help; an education plan maybe a better choice. With that in mind, we embarked on a simple visual aids programme of downloading short videos that link sugar and impact on nutrition. A few three to five minutes videos were downloaded. These included the Sugary Truth, Sugar is Killing Us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Yda8RtOcVFU (Sugar is Killing Us)
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=EFlnlGx0B5U(The Sugary Truth)
These videos were viewed for daily viewing during assembly with a brief discussion. The link between dopamine and sugar addiction (signals in the brain) being similar to alcohol and drugs was an eye opener. In addition, there is a correlation between level of sugar intake and resistance to illness and immune levels, besides other health impacts like the onset of diabetes. Though the videos were not Malaysian in origin, there is sufficient content to reflect upon.
This programme is about a month in place now. Habits take time to change. Random checks, continued support as well as alternative healthy snacks and drinks will help. The next phase will be to offer drinks like lime, barley, and healthy snacks like chick pea through a cooperative small business unit. And a money management programme in addition to the potential involvement of a local medical university team on a health and nutrition collaboration with My Skills.
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