The fizz– the crisp, sweet, crackle that opening a fresh can of soda brings to your mouth. There’s no doubt in saying that America loves soda and other sugary drinks. However, these sugary drinks tend to bring unwanted calories into our diets. Not only this, but these calories are empty– meaning that they serve no purpose to one’s daily nutrition. The “Rethink Your Drink” campaign of Nevada aims to curb these problems with realistic goals and lifestyle modifications easy enough for even the biggest soda drinker to attain.
The “Rethink Your Drink” campaign website is very user friendly. It’s bright, colorful, interactive, and definitely not too wordy. The campaign is broken down into website tabs of What?, Why?, and How? The “What” category describes the different ways sugar is portrayed on a food label. It even gives a picture to show where to look for these words. The “Why” category breaks the campaign down even further into 6 reasons as to why people should stop drinking sugary drinks. From gaining weight, to tooth decay, to the exact number of calories drinks can add up to, this campaign provides figures, charts, and graphs in order to convince their audience. The “How” category gives four specific ways people can teach themselves and their kids to limit the amount of sugary drinks consumed per day. What I found interesting in this category, is that the information does not tell people to totally swear off sugary drinks. There is in fact an acceptable limit of empty calories people can eat per day, and people need to simply limit how many empty calories they are consuming.
That being said, the “Rethink Your Drink Campaign” tells people to limit the number of drinks, the amount of drinks, and the occasions. They also suggest writing and tracking the progress of goals. In doing so, these methods hope to set a positive example for kids and other family members.
I think that there are many more pros than cons within this campaign. For one, it is realistic. This campaign does not scold people for drinking sugary drinks, it does not tell people to totally rid their lives of these drinks, and it most importantly does not speak down to the people reading this campaign. I believe that sometimes, people to do not follow nutrition advice because they feel talked down to. That being said, usually that kind of advice is harsh or extreme. This campaign helps suggest lifestyle modifications that do not require too much effort or time, which people are usually wary to give up. This campaign even has a recipes tab, which provides viewers with many healthy drink options and alternatives.
I believe that this campaign is successful, because it defines the problem, explains why it is a problem, and provides modifications and alternatives in order to find a more viable solution. The website is easy to navigate and the articles are easy to read and understand. The information also pertains to a wide array of people in today’s society, which means that this campaign has potential to spread to all types of people. Overall, I think the “Rethink Your Drink” campaign has successfully shed light on a nutritional problem.