Consumer Behavior Change

Nestlé Pure Life's 'Ripple Effect' Movement Encouraging Healthy Hydration Habits Among Kids

Nestlé’s Pure Life® Purified Water recently announced a new campaign dedicated to encouraging children to drink more water. A recent study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that a little more than half of all children and adolescents don’t get enough hydration. Although excessive dehydration — which is rare in the developed world — is associated with serious health problems, even mild dehydration can cause issues including headaches, irritability, poor physical performance and reduced cognitive functioning.1

By Sustainable Brands | Published 9 years ago | About a 4 minute read

Nestlé’s Pure Life® Purified Water recently announced a new campaign dedicated to encouraging children to drink more water. A recent study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that a little more than half of all children and adolescents don’t get enough hydration. Although excessive dehydration — which is rare in the developed world — is associated with serious health problems, even mild dehydration can cause issues including headaches, irritability, poor physical performance and reduced cognitive functioning.1

The overwhelming majority of polled moms agree that establishing patterns of healthy hydration and other healthy habits early on in childhood can have wide-ranging benefits: A recent survey conducted for Nestlé Pure Life found that 97 percent of moms believe that one healthy choice leads to making other healthy choices — the brand calls this The Ripple Effect,2 and the brand is taking this opportunity to remind consumers that water is an easy and healthy choice to make.

To help jumpstart The Ripple Effect movement, the brand has partnered with After-School All-Stars, a leading national provider of comprehensive after-school programs. Nestlé has committed to provide nearly a million 8-ounce servings of Pure Life Purified Water to kids this school year through After-School All-Stars’ after-school programs.3

"Our mission has always been to help children succeed in school and in life, and healthy lifestyle choices are a key part of that," says Ben Paul, president & CEO of After-School All-Stars. "We are thrilled to encourage healthy hydration habits by partnering with Nestlé Pure Life, and thankful that they've been able to provide our kids with water and refillable bottles to keep them hydrated — from the classroom to the after-school activities that they pursue."

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The survey also found that 33 percent of moms say that getting their kids to drink water is a more common struggle than encouraging their kids to get enough exercise or eating their breakfast.

"Keeping kids hydrated isn't always easy especially with hectic schedules and the daily grind of maintaining a healthy lifestyle," says Robin Plotkin, RD, LD. "Although it can be a struggle, the importance of encouraging those healthy habits early on can have meaningful results that serve as building blocks for a healthy lifestyle."

The survey also found that kids who drink 4 or more glasses of water a day frequently exhibit healthy habits such as getting their own water when thirsty, eating fruits and vegetables at meal times without reminders, and requesting healthy school lunch options.

In addition to the water provided to After-School All-Stars, Nestlé Pure Life is providing moms and kids with resources that encourage healthy hydration.

"As part of our work with the Partnership for a Healthier America's (PHA) Drink Up Initiative, Nestlé Pure Life has been committed to helping kids drink more water as part of their efforts to help establish healthy habits with children early on," says Helene Lee, Senior Brand Manager at Nestlé Waters North America. "Through The Ripple Effect, we're giving moms the support they need to help their kids make healthier choices — ones that will benefit them throughout their lives. With the help of After-School All-Stars, we're empowering moms and kids to make healthy hydration a part of their everyday routine."

"Our mission is to encourage everyone to drink more water, and we're thrilled to see our partners at Nestlé Pure Life helping to aid those efforts through their work on The Ripple Effect program," says Bonnie McLaughlin, PHA's director of Drink Up.

The campaign aims to instill a habit that is truly fundamental to our health and personal sustainability; hopefully we can all — particularly those of us in California — find a way to meet our hydration needs that is environmentally sustainable, as well.

Not that encouraging bottled water use is the best course of action, but I guess we have to start somewhere.

1"Prevalence of Inadequate Hydration among US Children and Disparities by Gender and Race/Ethnicity: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009-2012," Erica L. Kenney, Michael W. Long, Angie L. Cradock, Steven L. Gortmaker, American Journal of Public Health, online June 11, 2015, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302572.

2The Nestlé Pure Life "The Ripple Effect" Survey was conducted by KRC Research via an online survey of 1,077 moms of kids ages 6-12 overall, including 254 Hispanic moms of kids ages 6-12. 1,077 kids ages 6-12 from the same household were also surveyed, including 254 Hispanic kids ages 6-12. This research was conducted between June 5-19, 2015.

3At over 20 participating schools in select markets across the country