So I was doing my 6 p.m. tour of the Botanical Gardens tonight with Jasper the golden retriever and my mum in tow.

We were lapped several times by annoyingly fit joggers, including several men in hot pants.

I know that the superfit have fabulous thighs, but there?s a difference between short shorts and the sweaty hot pants favoured by Bermuda?s jogging elite.

Nevertheless, despite the scary pants, we were having a fabulous time and importantly, getting our daily dose of exercise and fresh air.

This got me thinking. There are several arguments for saving the Botanical Gardens from the proposed hospital development, but perhaps none more important than this.

Thirty three percent of Bermuda?s adults are obese, 20 percent of our boys are overweight and 22.4 percent of our girls are overweight.

Being overweight or obese carries a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes or heart disease ? two of Bermuda?s biggest killers. This means our children will be the first generation to have a lower life expectancy than their parents ? how scary is that?

So how much sense does it make to take away one of the few open green spaces we have left?

After a hard day at work, many of us will use any excuse not to go out and exercise ? thunder clouds looming, a cold, lack of hot pants? but what better excuse, than nowhere appealing and safe to go and exercise?

Yes, I want a newer, cleaner, better, more fabulous hospital, but there must be a way round this.

In any event, prevention has to be better than cure ? it?s not just a case of Save the Gardens, but Save the Children too.

Now for those of you interested in saving the gardens, visit www.savethegardens.com for all the up-to-date information, including signing the petition and joining the virtual march!

For all of you interested in saving our children ? read on.

We absolutely have to help our children lead healthier lifestyles. We need to encourage them to exercise and provide healthy meals and snacks.

However, if I had to pick the most important dietary factor for parents to consider, it would be this: what your child eats is important, but what they drink, is absolutely critical too.

Most of us know that ice-cream, doughnuts and candy are high in sugar. But what about drinks? Fruit punch is just fruit, and vitamin water ? that?s just vitamins ? in water! That?s good, right? Not so.

Just look at the table and see how many teaspoons of sugar are in the drinks that your child has.

A SoBe or Sunkist has a massive 21 teaspoons of sugar per bottle. Look at it this way, would you add 21 teaspoons of sugar to your tea or coffee?

The problem with sugar is this. As well as disrupting blood sugar level (which over the long term can contribute to diabetes), excess sugar gets stored in the body as fat.

This means that something can technically have zero grams of fat in it, but still cause weight gain when consumed.

Sugary drinks are a particular problem because the way sugar content is listed is often misleading.

In fact, 100 percent fruit juice is technically just as sugary as many of the artificially flavoured fruit drinks out there.

However, it tends to come in smaller serving sizes ? the Tropicana orange juice is eight fluid ounces and the apple juice is ten fluid ounces ? whereas the Twister is 20 fluid ounces.

And let?s face it, whatever size you buy is the size that your child will drink. No one drinks half a Twister and then saves the rest for later.

Interestingly, the SoBe Water and the Vitamin Water have less sugar per serving than 100 percent fruit juice.

However, the whole bottle contains over eight teaspoons of sugar, so don?t kid yourself into thinking that these are healthy, despite the fact they are infused with vitamins.

Also, bear in mind the other additives ? most of these drinks contain things like red 40, ester of wood rosin (!) and high fructose corn syrup ? you have been warned. In my view, the only healthy fruit-based drinks are small servings of 100 percent juices.

An eight fluid ounce glass of 100 percent juice even counts as one of your recommended five servings a day of fruit and vegetables. The small Tropicana or Welch?s 100 percent juices are a great example and can be included easily in children?s lunch boxes.

One hundred percent juice can also be diluted with sparkling water to create a longer, more refreshing drink.

But whatever you do, try and teach your children that just because something says ?vitamin? on the label, it doesn?t mean it?s healthy.

Remind them that sugary drinks can cause weight gain just as easily as sugary or fatty food.

Let them know that small 100 percent juices, or diluted fruit juices are really the only healthy options.

And finally, remember to log onto www.savethegardens.com ? and save the children too!

@EDITRULE:

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Clinical Nutritionist. She can be contacted at 291 4725 or clinicalnutritiongmail.com