YOUNG netballers are required to consume 15 kilograms of sugar in sports drinks to get a set of seven netball bibs in a Coca-Cola promotion shamed by a Cancer Council Parents’ Jury.

The Coca-Cola Amatil promotion, which would also require sports teams to spend $1400 and consume 13 kilos of sugar in Powerade or soft drinks to get a single basketball, has won this year’s Foul Play prize awarded by the Cancer Council.

It raised the ire of the Parents’ Jury because it associates a healthy activity like sport with the unhealthy consumption of sugar laden soft drinks.

The sports loyalty program is one of a number of junk food promotions pilloried by parents concerned their kids are being targeted by junk food companies.

The same company was also shamed with the Digital Ninja Award for a digital game called Fanta Flavour Lab that encourages kids to come up with new flavoured soft drinks and share them with friends on social media.

“Teenagers and children become brand ambassadors for the company sharing this via their social media profile,” says Cancer Council’s nutrition manager Clare Hughes.

The Cancer Council’s Parent’s Jury judges junk food advertising campaigns submitted by angry parents every year in a bid to shame the companies into changing their practices.

Sugary soft drinks have been linked to the nation’s growing obesity rates which in turn has been linked to cancer.

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“We know junk food contributes to obesity and we know obesity contributes to your risk of cancer,” says Ms Hughes.

Obesity has been implicated in increased risk of breast cancer, bowel cancer, endometrial cancer, kidney cancer, oesophageal cancer and pancreatic cancer, the Cancer Council says.

With one third of cancers are preventable and with 25 per cent of kids overweight the Cancer Council says it has an interest in preventing cancers caused by obesity and that’s why its tackling junk food advertising.

Parent’s jury campaign manager Dimity Gannon says parents are very concerned that junk food advertising undermines the healthy eating message they try to deliver.

“Through the year parents choose who they think are the worst offenders and the jury made up of parents and health experts judge them,” she said.

Mixing sport and soft drinks is not a good idea because it contradicts the healthy message of participating in sport, says Sydney mother of two Penny McBride.

“I don’t want the girls to take home the message that if they do some physical activity they should gulp down a sugary drink,” she said.

“I certainly don’t want the coaches put in the position of pushing these drinks on our kids to get more equipment for clubs,” she said.

McDonalds Emlings app, a computer game targeting children aged four to eight was also shamed in the awards as was Nestle Australia’s Wonka Chocolate Golden Ticket which exploited children’s affection for the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” story.

The Cancer Council has hosted the awards for over a decade and says it is disappointed the same companies are repeat offenders year after year.

“We’re still trying to get better regulation of junk food advertising on television but the companies are ten steps ahead and they are already moving online,” says Ms Hughes.

How much sugar sports clubs need to consume:

1 drink bottle = 28 Powerades = $100 = 939g sugar

1 bike = 2,436 Powerades = $9,000 = 84kg sugar

1 esky = 3,591 Powerades = $13,000 = 122 kg sugar

1basketball = 387 Powerades = $1,400 =13kg sugar

7 netball bibs = 400 Powerades = $1,600 = 15kg sugare