Contest Documents
- Judging Rubric
- Rules & Guidelines
- YVYC Minor Consent Form (for contestants UNDER 18)
- YVYC Standard Consent Form (for contestants 18 & older)
- W9
HoCoUnsweetened Campaign
Helpful Resources
Award Winning Documentaries:
- Bully (2011): Exploring the subject of school bullying from a personal angle, this eye-opening documentary tracks the stories of five different families whose children are struggling to defend themselves on a near-daily basis.
- Food, Inc. (2008): An unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry.
- The Cove (2009): An amazing true story that is one part action-adventure thriller, one part documentary and a completely heart-pounding call for help from the world’s oceans.
Sugary Drink Facts
- A sugar-sweetened beverage (i.e. sugary drink) is a drink with sugar added. Sugar has many names. To find out if a drink contains sugar, look for any of these words on the list of ingredients: sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fruit juice concentrates, glucose, honey, invert sugar, molasses, sucrose, syrup or cane sugar.
- Sugary drinks are the greatest source of added sugars in the American diet and the #1 source of calories in teens’ diets.
- Children and youth in the US averaged 224 calories per day from sugary beverages in 1999 to 2004—nearly 11% of their daily calorie intake.
- Sugary drinks (soda, energy, sports drinks) are the top calorie source in teens’ diets (226 calories per day), beating out pizza (213 calories per day).
- When you consume sugary drinks, you do not feel as full as if you had eaten the same calories from solid food, and you do not compensate for by eating less.
- Sugary drink consumption increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and gout.
- Information on sugary drink packages may confuse people. Some fruit drink packages are covered with images of real fruit, even though these drinks may contain no more than 5% real fruit juice.
- Parents believe that full-sugar soda is not a healthy option for their children, but they are under the impression that children’s fruit drinks are healthier. The truth is that ounce-for-ounce, the fruit drinks are just as high in calories and added sugar as soda.
- A typical 20-ounce soda contains 15 to 18 teaspoons of sugar and upwards of 240 calories.
- A 64-ounce fountain cola drink could have up to 700 calories.
- In the 1970s, sugary drinks made up about 4% of US daily calorie intake; by 2001, that had risen to about 9%.
- Studies in children and adults have found that reducing sugary drink consumption can lead to better weight control among those who are initially overweight.
- If you were to drink one sugary soft drink every day, and not cut calories anywhere else in your diet, you could gain 15 pounds per year.
Marketing of Sugary Drinks
- Young people are targeted through product placements and sponsorships. Sixty-three percent of all full-calorie soda and energy drink ads on national TV included sponsorship of an athlete, sports league or team, or an event or cause.
- Highly caffeinated drinks, such as energy drinks, are not recommended for children and teens, yet they are heavily marketed to them.
- A 2010 study found that each year, children and teens watch an average of 277 ads on sugary drinks and preschoolers watch about 213.
- In 2010, teens viewed 12% more ads on TV for sugary drinks and energy drinks compared with adults, even though they watched fewer hours of TV.
- Sugary drinks companies place online banner ads for their products on youth websites like Nickelodeon, Disney, and the Cartoon Network. Contests, games, and activities are often embedded in the ads to attract children.
- Sugary drink advertising also reaches teens on their cell phones through banner ads on mobile websites, Smartphone applications, and text messaging ads.
