Extending the conversation on sugary drinks in schools

Last week, the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity published a special issue on child obesity featuring eight articles authored by our Center researchers.  Our Center director Deanna Hoelscher, PhD, RD, LD wrote a blog post for the journal publisher, Bio Med Central, where she discussed the release of the special issue and some of the key findings from the articles therein.

The American Beverage Association commented on the blog to share their views on the causes and solutions to the childhood obesity problem.  Below is the comment posted by the ABA and the subsequent response from Dr. Hoelscher:

American Beverage Association, ABA Communications - 30th July 2015 14:15 

We agree that childhood obesity is a serious issue. However, this public health challenge is influenced by myriad factors, including genetics, overall diet, and inactivity; not a single source of calories. That said, our industry is doing its part and has taken proactive steps to encourage a healthy balance. For example, our member companies helped lead the way with the implementation of national School Beverage Guidelines, which removed full-calorie soft drinks, cut beverage calories in schools nationwide by 90 percent, and set the stage for the USDA’s new regulations currently underway in schools. We have also led the way on clear calorie labeling so that consumers of all ages can make informed choices. The overarching takeaway? Education that focuses on overall diet and physical activity can help people increasingly embrace healthier habits. This comprehensive approach is capable of changing behaviors in a meaningful and lasting way.

-American Beverage Association

And Dr. Hoelscher's reply:

Deanna Hoelscher - 31st July 2015 18:09 

Thank you for your comments and for the opportunity to have a dialogue on this important issue facing our nation (and the international community). As you accurately stated in your post, obesity is influenced by a myriad of factors. This special issue in IJBNPA explores several of these factors, including peer influence and school nutrition policies, and presents an updated childhood obesity framework (Perry, et al.) that we hope will help parents, communities, policy makers, and industry work together to reverse the childhood obesity problem. While education is one important component of how we can help people embrace healthy lifestyles, this special issue makes it clear that, while necessary, a lack of nutrition information or nutrition education on the part of the consumer – and particularly children – is only one piece of a complex puzzle. 

We are encouraged by some of the changes that have occurred to the beverage selection available in schools; however, much still remains to be done. While full-calorie soft drinks have been mostly removed from public schools, they have been replaced by alternatives with equal or greater amounts of sugar and/or caffeine. In this way, many states have inched their way forward in school beverage policy reform rather than take the comprehensive steps, recommended by the scientific community, necessary to significantly impact dietary behavior. In fact, as noted by Taber et al., a patchwork approach to sweetened beverage regulation in schools has actually been shown to be counterproductive by shifting rather than reducing the number of calories consumed through sugary drinks. 

Parents, communities, policy makers, and industry can and should take proactive steps to encourage a “healthy balance” between diet and physical activity. However, there are certain steps that must be taken if we are to have a truly “comprehensive approach” to meaningful and lasting changes in obesity among youth. Children and adolescents continue to be bombarded by unhealthy food and beverage marketing, and often have easy access to poor dietary choices during the school day. The beverage industry has the power to take a proactive step by removing all high-sugar and caffeinated drinks and eliminating the marketing of those beverages in and around schools and school-sponsored activities. These acts would serve to reinforce and be consistent with the nutrition education and messaging students receive throughout the school day, and would be an important step toward a healthier generation of young people.

Click here to read the original blog post and add your voice to the discussion.

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