Forget the milk - those spoonfuls of sugar make more fizzy go down

New Zealanders - the world's greatest dairy exporters - now probably drink more soft drinks than milk.

No one knows for sure because the statistics have not been collected since 1997. But the signs are that soft drink sales have surpassed milk for the first time.

Massey University nutritionist Dr Carol Wham said soft drink consumption leapt from 50 litres a head in 1989 to 81.6 litres in 1996-97 and was now probably over 100 litres - at least two litres a week.

Meanwhile, milk consumption dropped from a peak of 139 litres a head in 1974 to 94.6 litres a head in 1997.

The US Department of Agriculture, which estimates consumption in all major countries, believes New Zealanders' annual milk consumption is now down to 88.4kg a head - roughly 88 litres.

We still drink less soft drink than Australians, who got through 119.7 litres a head in 1997, or Americans, who downed 193.3 litres - almost twice their milk consumption of 101 litres a head.

But Dr Wham said the New Zealand trends were still a serious health issue.

"What is the nutritive value of soft drinks? It's water and sugar and what else?" she said.

"Milk contains nutrients that are vital for health. In particular, milk is a rich and accessible source of dietary calcium.

"An adequate calcium intake is essential for optimal bone density and has an important role in the prevention of osteoporosis."

She said the shift to sugary soft drinks was also rotting children's teeth.

"Dental caries in young children is becoming an increasing issue because of children using sipper bottles of soft drinks and fruit juices."

Coca-Cola spokeswoman Aimee Driscoll said Coke was completely fat-free and less sugary than some other products.

A pamphlet produced by Coke's New Zealand company, Coca-Cola Amatil, says every 100ml of Coca-Cola contains 10.6g of sugar. That's about four teaspoons of sugar in a typical 200ml glass, and compares with 10.3g of sugar in the same amount of orange juice, 10.8g in chocolate-flavoured milk and 4.7g in standard whole milk.

The company says Diet Coke contains no sugar and accounts for a third of all Coke sold in New Zealand.

But Dr Wham said low-fat milks also had reduced fat and provided the best of both worlds.

"You have all the benefits of the milk protein without the fat."

Her statistics for milk were collected by the Milk Board up to 1981, then by Statistics NZ. Soft drink statistics were published by the Australasian Soft Drink Association.

But Statistics NZ no longer collected milk consumption figures, and the Soft Drink Association's successor, the NZ Juice and Beverage Association, only has an overall spending figure - $1.2 billion in the latest year on non-alcoholic drinks including soft drinks, fruit juice, flavoured milk and bottled water.

Market research company ACNielsen said New Zealanders now buy slightly more soft drinks than milk from supermarkets - 193.6 million litres of soft drinks in the 11 months to the end of November, compared with 178.7 million litres of milk.

But no one knows what proportions of milk and soft drinks are sold outside supermarkets in dairies, petrol stations and other outlets.

Dr Wham said a major factor driving the trends was price. Milk now cost more than eight times as much as it did 20 years ago. "Milk is now twice the price of soft drink," she said.

"If you go into the supermarket you see people stuffing their trolley full of soft drinks. It's so cheap."