YARRIAMBIACK Mayor Ray Kingston has announced the winners of the H3O Challenge.
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The challenge was funded by Vic Health with support from Deakin University and Yarriambiack Shire Council.
The H3O Challenge has been focused on shires and towns that have a large consumption rate of sugar in drinks such as juices, soft drinks and cordial.
The challenge aims to reduce the number of sugary drinks people consume and replace them with healthier options such as water or fresh milk.
Hydration is key to a human’s health and well-being with studies showing that if people are constantly hydrated they feel a whole lot better about themselves.
Being well-hydrated helps to maximise people’s physical performance.
It also has a major effect on energy levels and brain function.
The winners of the challenge were the Rotary Lions with an average reduction of sugar sweetened beverage a day of 836 millilitres and an average increase in water consumption of 1024 millilitres per person each day.
The group won $2000 that will go towards a community project.
Coming in second was the Warracknabeal Community Garden team with an average reduction of sugar sweetened beverages a day of 570 millilitres.
An honourable mention was given to the Warracknabeal Playgroup team.
The team increased its average water consumption by a staggering 1.5 litres per person.
Playgroup team member Tracey Dart said the challenge had really highlighted the benefits of not consuming sugary drinks.
“I’m not a big soft drink consumer but our house has cordial in it and after cutting it out you could really notice the changes,” she said.
“My family ended up saving a lot more money and saved our calories too.”
There will also be an individual winner announced later in the week who will receive $500 to go towards a community project.
Council’s manager of community services and development Gavin Glinman said 153 people were involved in the challenge around the shire.
He said despite the challenge being over, he hoped people would keep drinking water and leave their sugar intake at the bare minimum.
The team at Rural Northwest Health at Hopetoun did well when they increased their water consumption by an average of more than one litre a person.
Cr Kingston thanked the teams that participated from across the shire for their participation in the challenge, which ran over the month of March.
The mayor also thanked Vic Health and Jill Whelan from Deakin University for funding the challenge and assistance in supporting the shire to run the preventative health program.
Cr Kingston has encouraged others to take up the challenge, increase their water consumption and improve their health.