In late January 2014, Get Healthy San Mateo County launched a Choose Healthy Drinks awareness campaign. The campaign is focused on South San Francisco, San Bruno and Daly City — the three San Mateo County cities with the highest rates of obesity at 47%, 43%, and 39% respectively. San Mateo County joins our neighbors in San Francisco, Sonoma and Alameda Counties in this regional effort to educate our community about the harmful effects of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Look for these messages in Bart stations, on billboards and at corner stores!

Did you know?

What you can do today

• Get the latest data from our Countywide factsheet (2015) on the risks of sugary drinks and what you can do to help. 
• Print or share on Facebook these great Choose Healthy Drinks materials. You will also see these images on billboards, in Bart stations and at many corner stores in South San Francisco, Daly City and San Bruno.
• Share this palmcard designed by and for youth from the Youth Organizing San Mateo County (YO! Mateo) of the Youth Leadership Institute. It describes ways they can reduce consumption of sugar sweetened beverages in their communities.  
• Download the Sip on This Policy Brief (2014) to share with coworkers, neighbors, family and friends

What you can do to get rid of sugary drinks

• Participate in a training to become a “sugar savvy” trainer, and teach others about the sugar content of beverages
• Advocate for the removal of sugary drinks in vending machines
• Encourage healthy beverage options such as water or tea at meetings, events, your child’s classroom and daycare, etc.
• Support policies to eliminate sugary drinks from kids’ meals
• Encourage your city to partner with supermarkets and post Rethink Your Drink information in their markets
• Support state and national regulations that restrict marketing sugary drinks to children on television, and in schools or camps
• Adopt a wellness policy in your workplace that encourages replacing sugary drinks with healthy drinks
• Ask your city to prohibit the sale of sugary drinks within a certain distance from schools, rec centers and other places where kids congregate