Allowing
Soft Drinks in Schools Debated
Consumption of carbonated soft drinks from school
vending machines has very little impact on adolescent weight problems,
according to a report in the journal Risk Analysis.
Given that, the data does not support a policy of
banning or restricting sales of soft drinks in schools, the authors
conclude.
"We don't want this research to be taken to indicate
that we think the problem of adolescent overweight is nonexistent or
something we shouldn't pay attention to," says study author Richard
A. Forshee, deputy director and director of research at the University
of Maryland's Center for Food, Nutrition, and Agriculture Policy.
"We believe adolescent obesity is a very serious
problem," Forshee says. "We think these kinds of analyses are necessary
to help us find [the] most effective interventions so we can have a
positive impact on a problem we all care about."
Other nutrition experts argue that the study missed
the larger picture.
"You're not going to be able to find one thing that
is going to be the be-all and end-all in obesity in kids," says Cathy
Nonas, director of the diabetes and obesity programs at North General
Hospital in New York City and a spokeswoman for the American
Dietetic Association.
"I don't think any one thing is going to have a
strong effect, " Nonas comments.
The study was funded by the American
Beverage Association. Forshee maintains that his group "followed
a very rigorous scientific process" and that the association had
no input into the analysis, design, interpretation, or decision to
publish the research.
According to background information in the report,
the percentage of adolescents classified as overweight increased from
10.5 percent in the 1988-94 period to 15.5 percent in the 1999-2000
period.
Scientists, policy makers, and concerned citizens
alike are trying to find effective ways to stem the rising rates of
obesity. One strategy under consideration is banning or limiting sales
of soft drinks from vending machines in schools.
In January, the American
Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement recommending
that soft drink sales in schools be severely restricted, pointing
out that sweetened drinks (including fruit drinks as well as soft
drinks) are now the main source of added sugar in the daily diets
of children.
The authors of the current study state there is
little scientific evidence to support such a policy, and set out to
analyze the existing literature.
To this
end, they used the tool of "risk analysis," which,
Forshee says, "has not been applied as widely as it should be in nutrition
policy."
The idea was to apply the tool to a controversial
area in nutrition policy (soft drink sales in schools) as a way to
demonstrate that it might have wider utility.
Forshee used two federally funded data sets, including
the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2000 (NHANES),
and one data set from the National Family Opinion consumer research
firm.
The researchers used the largest association between
school soft drinks and body mass index (BMI) they could find, which
was a 0.24 unit change in BMI for every one serving change in soft
drink consumption.
Even using
this upper-end figure, Forshee notes, "There
was no statistically significant association and, in fact, regular
carbonated soft drinks accounted for less than 1 percent of the variance
in BMI."
Consumption of soft drinks from school vending machines
was also quite low, with estimates ranging from half an ounce to two
ounces per day per student. Adolescents drank five times as much at
home.
The findings implied that consumption of sugar-sweetened
beverages need to be cut by more than four servings a day to reduce
BMI by 1 kilogram per meter squared.
With current
consumption of such drinks at two servings a day for males and about
one a day for females, it is unlikely that
such a policy in schools will make a "meaningful difference in BMI
distribution of the population," the authors write.
"We're not saying that there's no kid that has a
problem with consumption with sweetened beverages," Forshee explains. "We're
wondering what kind of public policy interventions are going to be
effective at dealing with public health issues."
"Restricting sales of soft drinks in schools does
come with some costs," he adds. "It restricts choices, and it is a
source of revenue for schools."
For Nonas, however, restricting soft drink sales
in schools would be part of a larger policy initiative which also would
include making parks safer, more gym time in schools, reduced television
watching, and getting rid of sweetened drinks at home.
"I've always said that vending machines are a start,
but nowhere near enough to make a dent," Nonas says. "This, by itself,
is not an effective policy. That's different from saying it shouldn't
be done."
Always consult your child's physician for more information. |
