State health professionals are encouraging people to rethink what you drink.
On Wednesday, students at Pacheco Elementary in San Luis Obispo joined the statewide Rethink Your Drink event.
There were more than two dozen events in San Luis Obispo County alone.
The health department is promoting the benefits of drinking water and cutting down on sugary drinks like juice and soda.
There was a make-your-own flavored water buffet, workshops on creating fruit- and herb-infused water, a spin-the-wheel trivia game, and information on the amount of sugar in some popular beverages.
"It’s alarming how much sugar is actually in the things we drink in addition to the things that we consume," said San Luis Coastal Unified School District Director of Food Service Erin Palmer. "The average American consumes over 22 grams of sugar in a typical day and a lot of that comes from the things we drink."
According to health officials, sugary beverages make up 47% of added sugars consumed by Americans.
