HSH208 Media Package: Health Effects of Sugar Consumption Report

This media package, created for an HSH208 assignment, analyzes the health effects of sugar consumption, particularly focusing on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and their impact on public health in Australia. The package includes a media release highlighting research findings on Australians' perceptions and consumption of SSBs, emphasizing the 'health halo' effect and limited awareness of long-term health risks. A fact sheet provides supporting data from the Australian Dietary Guidelines, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and other research, detailing the links between high sugar intake and conditions like diabetes, obesity, and tooth decay. The report uses Lupton's angles of 'drama' and 'consequence' to engage readers, incorporates imagery in language, and suggests strategies for media outreach, including contact details, photo opportunities, and social media promotion. The assignment underscores the need for public health interventions to address excessive sugar consumption and promote healthier dietary choices, aligning with the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Running head: MEDIA PACKAGE: HEALTH EFFECTS OF SUGAR CONSUMPTION
MEDIA PACKAGE: HEALTH EFFECTS OF SUGAR CONSUMPTION
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Media Release
Caroline Miller
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
Email: [e-mail]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 28/03/2020
TO SWEETEN OR NOT TO SWEETEN? – A MODERN DAY TRAGEDY
OF THE ‘HEALTH HALO EFFECT’ OF SUGARY BEVERAGES
Researchers Miller and colleagues shed new light on the shockingly high consumption of
sugar-sweetened beverage cross the children and youth of Australia
Adelaide, South Australia: Today, a research published by the South Australian Health and
Medical Research Institute, presented interesting finding regarding the ideas and opinions which
motivate parents and young adults of Australia to consume SSB like soft drinks, energy drinks or
processed juices.
The results from 59 Australians revealed that a majority of people believed consuming SSB in
moderate amounts was a ‘treat’ to ensure that they consume a ‘balanced diet’. Shockingly,
participants admitted to being aware of the harmful effects of sugar but still continued to
consume in ‘moderation’ under influence of a ‘health halo’ for popularly advertised health
benefits (‘natural’) of SSBs like packaged fruit juices.
To further gain an understanding of participants’ opinions, the study found that:
 Australians had limited knowledge on the long term damages to health caused by sugar.

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 Australians who were aware believed that consuming SSB in ‘moderation’ would not
harm, but rather improve the intake of a ‘balanced diet’.
 Australians admitted to being influenced by advertisements like ‘no added sugar’, ‘sugar
free’ and ‘natural’ when purchasing SSBs.
 Australians believed that consuming SSBs after exercise was equivalent to a well-
deserved ‘treat’.
About the Study: Caroline Miller is a research at the South Australian Health and Medical
Research Institute. The findings by Miller and colleagues project the low levels of health
awareness across Australian youth and parents of children. This research indicates the immediate
need for public health organizations to address this lack of public awareness considering the
harmful health effects of sugar.

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Fact Sheet
In addition to the qualitative study by Miller et al., (2019), the following facts and
research information must be considered to understand the public health issue of high sugar and
SSB consumption in Australia:
 The Australian Dietary Guidelines categorize sugar sweetened beverages and foods with
added sugars as discretionary foods with negligible nutritional content which are non-
essential for daily life sustenance (Department of Health, 2013).
 The Australian Dietary Guidelines strongly recommend the need to limit the intake of
discretionary foods and beverages containing added sugars like biscuits, cakes, pastries,
cordials, fruit and energy drinks and sugar sweetened cordials (Department of Health,
2013).
 The Australian Dietary Guidelines also denote that the excessive consumption of sugar
sweetened beverages can increase the risk of obesity and weight gain across individuals
(Department of Health, 2013).
 Excessive consumption of sugar paves the way for weight gain in individuals which in
turn, negatively impacts the body’s ability to regulate blood glucose levels and thus, fall
prey to chronic metabolic conditions like diabetes (Sánchez-Romero et al., 2016).
 According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), each individual in Australia was
estimated to engage in the consumption of approximately 14 teaspoons or 60 grams of
sugar on a daily basis. Of these approximately 10% of Australian adolescents were
reported to consume discretionary foods containing added sugars on a daily basis, which
amounts to 38 teaspoons or 160 grams of sugar consumption on a daily basis. This

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amount of intake is much higher than the recommended consumption of 6 to 9 teaspoons
of sugar by the World Health Organization respectively (ABS, 2016).
 According to the findings presented in the National Health Survey by the Australian
Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2018) approximately one million of Australians were reported
to be affected with type 2 diabetes mellitus between the years 2017 to 2018.
 In another set of findings, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS, 2018) reported that
the average consumption of sugar sweetened beverages across Australian men and
women were approximately 825 ml and 625 ml on a daily basis.
 Uncontrolled diabetes as a result of excessive sugar consumption and increase the risk of
other metabolic complications such as accumulation of high cholesterol in blood and
resultant risk of heart disease and stroke (Kearns, Schmidt & Glantz, 2016).
 Excessive consumption of sugar in the form of SSBs or food containing added sugars is a
key contributor of tooth decay and cavities in the oral cavity (Keller et al., 2017).
 In a recent press release by the Australian Dental Association (ADA) and the Australian
Health Policy Collaboration (AHPC), approximately 32.1 % of Australians were affected
with painful and untreated forms of tooth decay as per the findings presented by the Oral
Health Tracker 2020 (ADA, 2020).
 The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend the need to replace the intake of food and
beverages with added sugars, with adequate water, whole grains like multigrain and
whole wheat flours and products, green leafy vegetables, low fat dairy products, nuts,
seeds and lean or vegetarian proteins like skinless chicken, fatty fish, eggs, soy and
legumes (Department of Health, 2013).

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References
ABS. (2013). 4364.0.55.001 - National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18. Retrieved 28
March 2020, from
https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.001~2017-
18~Main%20Features~Diabetes%20mellitus~50.
ABS. (2016). 4364.0.55.011 - Australian Health Survey: Consumption of added sugars, 2011-12.
Retrieved 28 March 2020, from
https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4364.0.55.011main+features12011-
12.
ABS. (2018). 4364.0.55.001 - National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18. Retrieved 28
March 2020, from
https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4364.0.55.001~2017-
18~Main%20Features~Sugar%20sweetened%20and%20diet%20drink
%20consumption~110.
ADA. (2020). Australia’s oral health is tracking in the wrong direction. Retrieved 28 March
2020, from https://www.ada.org.au/News-Media/News-and-Release/Media-Releases/
WODH-2020.
Department of Health. (2013). Eat for Health: Australian Dietary Guidelines. Retrieved 28
March 2020, from
https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/
n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_book.pdf.

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Kearns, C. E., Schmidt, L. A., & Glantz, S. A. (2016). Sugar industry and coronary heart disease
research: a historical analysis of internal industry documents. JAMA internal
medicine, 176(11), 1680-1685.
Keller, M. K., Kressirer, C. A., Belstrøm, D., Twetman, S., & Tanner, A. C. (2017). Oral
microbial profiles of individuals with different levels of sugar intake. Journal of oral
microbiology, 9(1), 1355207.
Miller, C., Braunack-Mayer, A., Wakefield, M., Roder, D., O’Dea, K., Dono, J., & Ettridge, K.
(2020). “When we were young, it really was a treat; now sugar is just the norm every
day"-A qualitative study of parents' and young adults' perceptions and consumption of
sugary drinks. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 31(1), 47-57.
Sánchez-Romero, L. M., Penko, J., Coxson, P. G., Fernández, A., Mason, A., Moran, A. E., ... &
Bibbins-Domingo, K. (2016). Projected impact of Mexico’s sugar-sweetened beverage
tax policy on diabetes and cardiovascular disease: a modeling study. PLoS
medicine, 13(11).

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Study Rationale
Selected Angles
For the purpose of ensuring that the above story is printed, two Lupton’s angles were
used, namely ‘drama’ and ‘consequence’. Drama has been used in the form of using adjectives
like ‘shocking’ to obtain an emotional response from the readers – in this case, a dilemma to
consume a favorite sugary food. Hints of ‘consequence’ have been added to the news article to
highlight the need to conduct further research upon a background of existing advertisements of
health benefits of SSB (Shugart, 2016).
Imagery in Language
Imagery in language has been used in the title and content in the form of ‘health halo’ –
to highlight how consumers are strongly influenced by the advertised health benefits of SSBs,
which are presented by food manufacturing companies. Such form of imagery has been used for
the purpose of appealing and attracting readers to the deceptive nature of such advertisements
(King et al., 2019).
Title
The title has been highlighted in large font and bold to make it attractive and visually
appealing. Additionally, words like ‘tragedy’ have been used to inflict emotional responses and
imagery in the readers regarding how SSB consumption has become an essential need
irrespective of their substantiated harmful effects on health (King et al., 2019).
Contact Details and Photo Opportunities
Contact details have been added prior to the media release content to ensure that
journalists can conveniently contact the researcher and the research agency in case of any

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concerns as well as for the purpose of providing in relevant photo opportunities. This has been
done by providing details of an email ID as well as the name of the organization involved in
conducting the relevant research (Dhoju et al., 2019).
Importance of Inclusion
The inclusion of the above details will facilitate the publication of this press release in
print. This is because the concerned journalist can established contact with the researcher
considering acquiring any further details which may be relevant to the research provide in the
press release (Dhoju et al., 2019).
Details of Release
The content will be released in relevant newspapers which are popularly read by
Australians based on the locality. This will ensure acquiring a wider audience for reading the
relevant news article (Dhoju et al., 2019).
Social Media Release
In addition to reverting to print, the content will also be released online across social
media platforms like Twitter or Facebook. This is because social media platforms are frequently
accessed and read by a wide audience and thus will ensure wider reach of the findings of the
findings of this research. This will especially be beneficial considering the high sugar
consumption across Australian youth and the increased tendency of youth to access social media
platforms. To further attract a large audience, popular social media strategies like hashtags will
be used (Househ, 2016).

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Other Strategies
In addition to the above, an additional strategy which will be used for the purpose of
ensuring that this news reaches print media, is that the journalist will be contacted personally
rather than merely via email. This will ensure development of a positive rapport. Additionally, a
short video or info-graphic can be prepared regarding the issue which can then be circulated
online or via brochures. This will ensure a wider reach considering that pictorial or audiovisual
resources are perceived to be more attractive to individuals (Househ, 2016).

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References
Dhoju, S., Rony, M. M. U., Kabir, M. A., & Hassan, N. (2019, August). A Large-Scale Analysis
of Health Journalism by Reliable and Unreliable Media. In 17th World Congress on
Medical and Health Informatics, MEDINFO 2019 (pp. 93-97). IOS Press.
Househ, M. (2016). Communicating Ebola through social media and electronic news media
outlets: A cross-sectional study. Health informatics journal, 22(3), 470-478.
King, N., Bishop-Williams, K. E., Beauchamp, S., Ford, J. D., Berrang-Ford, L., Cunsolo, A., ...
& IHACC Research Team. (2019). How do Canadian media report climate change
impacts on health? A newspaper review. Climatic change, 152(3-4), 581-596.
Shugart, H. A. (2016). Heavy Viewing: Emergent Frames in Contemporary News Coverage of
Obesity 1. In Obesity, Eating Disorders and the Media (pp. 141-168). Routledge.