City’s new campaign to steer kids from sugary drinks

The city’s health department Wednesday announced a new ad campaign that targets sugary drinks as one of the major factors contributing to the high childhood obesity and diabetes rates in New York City.

According to a news release from the health department, 40% of NYC public high students and as many 49% of high school students in neighborhoods like the South Bronx, East and Central Harlem, and North and Central Brooklyn drink at least one sugary beverage a day. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2013, nearly 30% of all NYC public high school students are obese or overweight.

The new “Skinny Kids” ad campaign, which is the latest in a series of sugary drink ads from the Health Department, encourages parents to make healthy choices for their children.

“Sugary drinks contain empty calories that can cause damage to your child’s body, even if your child is a healthy weight,” NYC Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett said in a statement.

Bassett encouraged kids and their parents to mitigate this damage by choosing “water or fruit as a healthy alternative to sugary drinks.”

The new “Skinny Kids” ads will run on TV and radio until the end of the month.