The popular soft drinks that contain the most sugar

Fizzy drinks. Pop. Soda. Whatever you call them, soft drinks have always been a favourite beverage for generations of Australians. While it’s nice to enjoy a sweet treat from time to time, it’s also important to maintain a healthy diet and only consume sugary drinks in moderation.

According to recent figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, one in two Aussies is consuming more sugar than recommended. Most are consuming an excess of 60g of added sugar, or 14 teaspoons of white sugar per day. These added sugars, as they’re known, come from sugar that is added to drinks and foods to make them sweeter. 

With more fizzy drinks available than ever before, Starts at 60 wanted to see which popular Australian soft drinks contained the most sugar. It’s not about telling people what they can and can’t drink, but simply equipping readers with information so they can make a decision based on their own lifestyles and health circumstances.

For fairness, each drink and sugar content is based on a standard 250ml serve. 

Surprisingly, a lot of the soft drinks contain the same amount of sugar. In tenth place on the list is Diet Bundaberg Ginger Beer. While it is diet, each 250ml serve contains around 3g of sugar, much less than many of the other beverages on the list.

Read more: The popular cereals that contain more sugar than chocolate biscuits

Lemon, Lime and Bitters, a classic across many Australians bars and pubs came in ninth. The Woolworths version of the drink contains 24.5g of sugar per serve. Next was Lift. Loved for being slightly sour and tangy, the lemon drink contains 21g of sugar. Although Solo is a very similar product, it’s worth noting it actually contains more sugar per serve. You’ll consume about 28.8g of sugar per 250ml you drink, while the Woolies brand of squash contains 27g.

Loved for its red colour and sweet flavour, Kirks Creaming Soda ranked next on the list with 26g, with old-fashioned lemonade by Schweppes coming in slightly more sugary with 27g per average serve.

While most Aussie households prefer either Coke or Pepsi as their favourite cola, it turns out Pepsi actually contains slightly more sugar than its competitor. On average, Pepsi contains 27.3g of sugar, while regular Coke contains 27g. Of course, a number of diet and sugar-free flavours and varieties are also available these days.

Orange Fanta contained the second highest levels of sugar, with 28g per serve, while V Energy Drink came in at number one with an shocking 34.g grams of sugar per serve.

Are you surprised by any of the results? Do you drink soft drink often?