Soft drinks a diabetes risk, Australia fight

Experts from America have reported that drinking a sugary drink a day could increase the risk of diabetes amongst women by up to 80 per cent. In Australia, the healthcare system is taking the threat seriously, and one association is calling for a total ban in Australian schools.
Kidney Health Australia has taken their lead from the Australian state of Victoria (which has banned sugary drinks in schools), and is calling for all states and territories to ban sweetened drinks.
One expert, the medical director of Kidney Health Australia, was reported as saying that “sugar sweetened drinks are now the principal source of added sugars in the diet of Americans, with a similar trend happening in Australia. As a person gets bigger, hyper-filtration occurs and this over filtration is what destroys the kidneys.”
Kidney Health Australia also called for a ‘drink water campaign’ to be implemented by federal government. The aim of the program would be to up water consumption in children under 12, and lower sugary drink consumption.
Kidney Health Australia are understandably concerned: diabetes and obesity often lead to poor kidney health, kidney disease and sometimes kidney failure. The association called for a coordinated approach to targeting diabetes and obesity.