Dr Vikram Lotwala

Work is worship,
Voting is responsibility (towards nation)

Sprite’s billion-dollar success comes with mountains of unwanted sugar

The entry of another Coca Cola brand into the billion dollar sales league in India should be less a matter of celebration and more a worry. Both Thums Up, the home-grown cola the US multinational acquired in 1995, and Sprite which have crossed the magical mark are sugary drinks of the worst kind..

As per the company’s own numbers there are 39 grams of sugar in a 12 oz Coca-Cola can. Even a smaller 7.5 oz (250 ml) can comes with 25 gms of sugar. For perspective that’s as many as 6-7 teaspoons of sugar. For young adults the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends a daily limit of less than 6 teaspoons or 24 grams per day of added sugars. Beyond that there are serious health implications. The Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health has this to say on its website about such drinks: “Beyond weight gain, routinely drinking these sugar-loaded beverages can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic diseases. Furthermore, higher consumption of sugary beverages has been linked with an increased risk of premature death.”

That Indians are consuming more of these is a matter of alarm. With an estimated 65 million adults in India living with diabetes, a number expected to go up to 80 million by 2030, India continues to be the diabetic capital of the world. A key finding by a joint survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), was that lack of awareness is the primary cause of India's rising number of undiagnosed diabetic cases.

Compounding the low general awareness about the ill effects of over consuming them, is the fact that they are targeted at younger consumers. As Arvind Sharma, former CEO and Chairman of ad agency Leo Burnett which led the rebranding of Thums Up from 1995 onwards, told Business Today magazine “The idea was to place it as a larger than life, adventure-driven brand that came together as very compelling package for the 18-35 years old group”. Sprite too is considered by the company as a clear youth brand which is why a few months ago it partnered with some of India’s biggest OTT platforms for its new campaign.

From Coca Cola’s point of view these are huge marketing successes in a market that has defeated many other multinationals. Riding on strategies like lower pack sizes and a greater focus on occasion-based drinking, the Indian unit has become a vital growth engine for the MNC’s global growth.

Across the world though Coca Cola’s more successful brands are increasingly those that are aimed at the health-conscious consumer. Realizing this, the company offers a reduced or no-sugar option for 18 of its 20 top global brands. Thus, in 2018, it launched Sprite Fiber+, a no-sugar drink with dietary fiber but with the same flavour as Sprite. It has also tried to change its product portfolio mix in large markets like China, where, in 2020, it tied up with China Mengniu Dairy to produce and sell chilled milk.

In India, at this point Coca Cola’s choice of products to push is determined by the market. Not surprisingly, it puts its marketing dollars behind products that are in demand. Thus, the brand ambassador for Thums Up is superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Past ambassadors include Salman Khan and Ranveer Singh.

For Sprite, given the younger demographics of its customer base, the company has used stars like Taapsee Pannu and Ayushmann Khurrana and more recently Ali Fazal. By contrast, some of its healthier products like VIO flavoured milk, Aquarius and Aquarius Glucocharge, have barely any visibility. And the more it spends on promoting the sugared drinks, the higher their sales.

The pernicious effects of sugar on the human body are now well documented. Research shows that people who consume too much added sugar are twice as likely to die of heart disease as those whose diets include less than 10 percent of total calories from added sugar. Now Coca Cola is preparing to turn Maaza into another billion dollar brand. For all its fruity veneer, it contains even higher levels of added sugar besides added flavours. Of course, it's not alone in this and rival MNC brands such as PepsiCo too are guilty of selling sugary drinks and even local ones, for that matter.

Hailing the success of such products plays into the argument floated by some food MNCs in the early years of liberalization that India’s evolution as a market should be marked by increasing consumption of breakfast cereals as opposed to traditional Indian foods.

Sundeep Khanna is a senior journalist.

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/opinion/sprites-billion-dollar-success-comes-with-mountains-of-unwanted-sugar-9449141.html

Sprite’s billion-dollar success comes with mountains of unwanted sugar The uptake of sugar-laden beverages marketed by MNCs in India is a health risk for young consumers hooked to them

Team Wings Bariatrics was glad to present our thought at the seminar held in United green Hospital. Our Counselor Palak Kaji spoke on Teenagers Obesity and Depression, Nutritionist Priyanka Sutariya spoke on Post Surgery Diet and Dr Vikram Lotwala spoke on Cashless and Health Insurance in Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery.

Gadchiroli diaries 2022

We are so happy to be part of this rural surgical camp at 's Ma Danteshwari Hospital at Chatgaon, Gadchiroli in Interior of Maharashtra , India. Total 54 cases operated in 2 days by team of 15 surgeons lead by my teacher Dr Muffi Lakdawala, HN Reliance Hospital, Mumbai. This big task is not possible without the help of our OT staff who work more efficiently and harder than us surgeon. We thank Padmashree Couple that's Dr Abhay Bang and Dr Rani Bang (Amma) who gave us this opportunity

Eat, Work,Sleep and dont forget Exercise !!! 45 min each day. Dis you workout today ??

There is no substitute for healthy food and moderate exercise. We can help you make decisions in healthy lifestyle and diet plans. Call us on 99099 66056 today !

આપણે જાણીએ છીએ કે વજન ઘટાડવું પડકારજનક હોઈ શકે છે. તમારી જીવનશૈલી, વ્યાયામ પ્રોટોકોલ અને બેરિયાટ્રિક સર્જરી અંગે સલાહ ઉપલબ્ધ છે. આજે જ વજન ઘટાડવા વિશે વધુ જાણવા માટે અમને 98244 37573 પર કૉલ કરો whatsapp 98250 65696

We know loosing weight can be challenging. Individual diet plans that suits your lifestyle, exercise protocol and advise on bariatric surgery is available. Call us on 98244 37573 or whatsapp on 98250 65696 to know more about weightloss today

Tell us what healthy food did you eat today ??

Workout is Important !!! Waking, Jogging, swimming etc.. anything is good. Just workout 5-6 times a week

Gift yourself the beneftit of weightloss
!!

Together, we can change the way we understand, prevent and treat obesity.
With every passing day, countries fall further behind their obesity targets. The longer we wait to take global systemic action, the more costly change becomes.
Lets create awareness about and its hazards on this by celebrating 4th March as World obesity day.

Dont make your "Needs" as necessities ...otherwise your health might create an issues like

As schools gradually reopen, time to care of our kids. They need to be feed healthy food and should be encouraged to participate in outdoor activities. has been a real problem in many families in the period.

We run after our ambition, Money and enriched life ....at times neglecting our health and fitness. Time to take care of fitness. Your health is an investment and not expense !!!

is ultimate goal for most of us. Club diet with exercise to get maximum results from your effort.

Today nature will take a shift. Sun will shift from Dakshinayan to Utrayan, Weather will shift from Autumn to Spring.Lets shift our consciousness from materialistic desires to Divine,from anger ,greed to love, devotion n acceptance to get GRACE.

Happy Makar Sakranti 🙏🏻may all negatives go out from your life . All good wishes

Whenever we get opportunity, pls take the 3rd dose or booster vaccine. It does help in Omicron variant too. Be safe. Keep your family safe.


Thanks

Wishes you the best Health.. Happy New Year 2022

We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2022. May the almighty bless you and your family with health, wealth and prosperity !!!

The advances in technology helps a medical professional to a great extent. Keep yourself update with the recent advances and reap the benefits.
One such development in optics is the 3D high resolution laparoscopy camera system which has changed the dynamics of depth perception and visual clarity. These developments are really helpful for very heavy patients of Bariatric surgery

Excess body weight the leading cause of death worldwide due to its comorbidities...
by adopting healthy habits 💪

Anti Obesity Day, 2021
First step towards transformation from

Say not to , say no to . Eating too much sweet can make you Obese and diabetic.

Fastfood fasten obesity.

In these covid times, we tried creating awareness of obesity in children by our articles published in local newspapers. Here presenting a small collage of them.

Covid times has lead to online studies and thus sitting for long hours, ready available food at home, absence of activities and exercise has lead to rampant weight gain in school going kids and especially teenagers. This has caused anxiety to many parents.

This issue has to be handled with delicate hands otherwise the repercussions could last for lifetime.

Teenager's, COVID & obesity...

Teenager's, COVID & obesity...

Teenager's, COVID & obesity...

May the beauty and festivity of fills your life with good health, happiness and joy.

They say keep on doing your work consistently, being truthful giving total efforts and success and accolades will follow. We tried following the same path with dedication. Received a small token of appreciation from Medronic USA for the same.

We believe in using the best surgical products for safety of our patients and thus our unit became one of the largest units in Gujarat to use Purple tristapler in Bariatric Surgery.

This efforts are due our dedicated team of Nutritionist Priyanka Bhatt Sutariya , Counsellor Palak Kaji Shah and Patient Coordinator Saboor Siddiqui

Cheers to team Wings Bariatrics

If your are suffering from obesity and struggling to lose weight, consult us today call 99099 66056 the weight loss expert in .

Teenager's, COVID & obesity...

Teenager's, COVID & obesity...

Avoid over eating by serving yourself in smaller plates and bowl. Do try this small trick to help yourself consuming less calories.

Teenager's, COVID & obesity...

Wish you all a 🏹

Teenager's, COVID & obesity...

nearly 2.8 million people dying each year because of obesity. If your are suffering from obesity and struggling to lose weight, consult us today call 99099 66056 the weight loss expert in .