In its fight against childhood obesity, The World Heart Federation has been negotiating in recent months with soft drink makers to get them to remove sugary beverages from schools.

Coca-Cola, the number one soft drink maker in the world, has also made some positive moves. This month they changed their global sales policy to not sell any of their drinks in primary schools around the world, unless parents or school districts ask. However, this policy does not apply to secondary schools.

Pepsi will now only sell water, fat-free or low-fat milk, and juice with no added sugar in primary schools. In secondary schools they will sell those same products, plus Diet Pepsi and other low-calorie soft drinks.

With the soft drink industry replacing sugary drinks with lower-calorie drinks in schools, sales of full-calorie soft drinks fell 95 percent in U.S. schools between fall 2004 and fall 2009, according to the American Beverage Association. This is only a gut reaction, with no cold hard facts to back it, but I find those numbers hard to swallow, especially since it’s coming from an association that represents the soft drink industry. But, I digress.

Pekka Puska, president of The World Heart Federation, says that this is just the first step in fighting childhood obesity. Kids need to also exercise more and eat healthier foods.

(via: ABC News)

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Pepsi Drops Sugary Drinks from Schools

High school vending machines. (via MSNBC)

Washington is going on the offensive. No, this isn’t another bailout. U.S. Senators want to give candy in vending machines the boot from schools. And I say, it’s about time. Leave it to mom and dad to pack a Snickers if they want to.

A bill was just introduced that would require schools in the U.S. to provide healthier options in order to fight the childhood obesity epidemic.

Senators Tom Harkin and Lisa Murkowski said their bill would allow the U.S. Agriculture Department to establish “common-sense nutrition standards” for food and beverages sold in school vending machines.

While school meals must comply with U.S. dietary guidelines, there are no rules on snacks sold outside of school lunchrooms. That seems kind of strange.

Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee, which oversees school lunch and breakfast programs.

“Poor diet and physical inactivity are contributing to growing rates of chronic disease in the United States,” said Harkin. “We must take preventative action now.”

An estimated 32 percent of kids in the U.S. are overweight, and 16 percent are considered obese, at risk for serious health problems.

Harkin and Murkowski (a Democrat and Republican respectively) have offered similar legislation before. Maybe they will get a more sympathetic ear from the new administration.

Consumer and health advocacy groups including the American Dietetic Association, American Heart Association and the Center for Science in the Public Interest support the legislation.

“It’s intrusive for the federal government to establish requirements beyond the programs that they fund, particularly when states are addressing the issue,” says Reginald Felton of the National School Boards Association. “If local boards want to restrict they should.”

He also noted that some schools rely on snack sales to help cover costs. So, we make ends meet at the expense of our children’s health?

(via: Reuters)

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Senators Want to Ban Junk Food From Schools

The program specifics included some basic common sense measures: a boost in the students’ exercise levels, and reducing junk food and sugary drinks. The students also had 11 health lessons, and schools were encouraged to increase gym classes and make changes in cafeteria food.

Over a 20-month period, students at 10 schools that ran the program successfully reduced soda intake, compared with their peers at eight other “control” schools.

The one caveat was that benefits tended to wane toward the end of the study. According to lead researcher Dr. Amika S. Singh of the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, the findings suggest that the school-based programs can be effective, but that they need to be kept in place.

When it comes to health-education programs, teenagers may benefit more than younger children, because their maturity level makes them better able to grasp the benefits of diet and exercise changes, and then implement them.

(via: Yahoo)

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School Obesity Program Shows Healthy Promise