Soda sales in schools curbed
Major beverage distributors, health alliance sign agreement |
Posted May 3, 2006 |
By Stacie Crozier New York —The nation's soft drink heavy hitters—Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and the American Beverage Association—have agreed to stop nearly all sales of sodas in schools by the 2009-2010 school year in a deal brokered by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
This is the first industry agreement for the alliance, a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association, and will affect nearly 35 million school students nationwide. The organization's overall strategy is to help kids live healthier lives by decreasing excess calories consumed while increasing calories burned.
Former President Bill Clinton and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, leaders in the alliance, announced the agreement at a press conference this morning.
"We enthusiastically support the agreement that the Alliance for a Healthier Generation has reached with the major beverage distributors to help improve the oral and overall health of our nation's children," said ADA Executive Director James B. Bramson. "The ADA has actively worked to educate parents and school administrators about the risks of soft drinks to oral health, and their link to poor nutrition and obesity."
Under the new guidelines, elementary and middle schools will only sell water, calorie-capped servings of juices and fat free and low fat milks in age-appropriate serving sizes. High schools will also be allowed to sell no-calorie and low-calorie drinks like diet and unsweetened teas, diet sodas, fitness water, low calorie sports drinks, flavored waters, seltzers, light juices and sports drinks.
Beginning in 2007, the beverage industry will compile data on the percentage of schools under contract that are in compliance with the new guidelines and will work to have 75 percent of schools meet the standards by the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year and hope to fully implement the guidelines prior to the 2009-2010 school year.
"This appears to be a big step in the right direction for providing healthy choices in schools," said Dr. Bob Brandjord, ADA president. "Many states have already been working on legislation and public relations campaigns about school nutrition and healthy choices. This should give support to those efforts."
A number of state dental associations, including the Minnesota Dental Association with its "Sip All Day Get Decay" project (online at www.mndental.org  ), have conducted public relations campaigns to educate patients about the dangers of soda to oral and overall health. Several states have recently considered legislation on school nutrition and Connecticut passed such a sweeping school nutrition bill April 27. School districts nationwide have also been replacing soda and high-calorie, high-fat and sugary snacks in school vending machines with healthier choices.
"This is an important announcement and a bold step forward in the struggle to help America's kids live healthier lives," said President Clinton. "These industry leaders recognize that childhood obesity is a problem and have stepped up to help solve it. I commend them for being here today and for taking this important step. There is a lot of work to be done to turn this problem around but this is a big step in the right direction and it will help improve the diet of millions of students across the country."
For more information on diet and oral health or ADA resources on soda, visit www.ada.org/public/topics/diet.asp.
|
