Sodas Skip Schools
May 3, 2006 -- Everybody complains about child obesity obesity -- and now the U.S. beverage industry is doing something about it.
In a stunning announcement, the major U.S. soft-drink makers -- Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Cadbury Schweppes, and other members of the American Beverage Association -- today promised to pull all sugared soft drinks from the nation's schools.
Beverages still sold in school will be restricted in portion size and calorie content. At least half of them will be low- or no-calorie beverages. The companies said the new policy would be fully in place within three years.
The industry action came after negotiations with the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association. The two organizations convinced the industry to join them in the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
"We are turning a huge ship around in the ocean before it hits an iceberg," former President Bill Clinton said at a news conference announcing the agreement. "This is a truly bold step forward. I hope we can do the same with other industries."
Easy access to high-calorie soft drinks isn't the only cause of the U.S. epidemic of child obesity. But it's a major piece of the puzzle. Experts often tell WebMD that the only way to stop this epidemic is to change the environment in which children have too-easy access to too many calories. Today's announcement marks the first real change in this environment.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said at the news conference that Clinton's participation was a major factor in the industry action. But he praised the industry for seizing the initiative.
"Anyone who jumps into an unknown body of water gets there by being pushed, or to test it for everyone else," Huckabee said. "The soft drink industry won't wait to be pushed. It invites the rest of the food industry to join them. ... It may be a soft drink industry, but they made a very hard decision. ... They are among the first to say, 'We all have a role in decreasing childhood obesity.'"
American Heart Association president Robert H. Eckel, MD, a researcher at the University of Colorado Health Science Center, also praised the soft drink industry.
In a stunning announcement, the major U.S. soft-drink makers -- Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Cadbury Schweppes, and other members of the American Beverage Association -- today promised to pull all sugared soft drinks from the nation's schools.
Beverages still sold in school will be restricted in portion size and calorie content. At least half of them will be low- or no-calorie beverages. The companies said the new policy would be fully in place within three years.
The industry action came after negotiations with the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association. The two organizations convinced the industry to join them in the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
"We are turning a huge ship around in the ocean before it hits an iceberg," former President Bill Clinton said at a news conference announcing the agreement. "This is a truly bold step forward. I hope we can do the same with other industries."
Environmental Change for Kids
Easy access to high-calorie soft drinks isn't the only cause of the U.S. epidemic of child obesity. But it's a major piece of the puzzle. Experts often tell WebMD that the only way to stop this epidemic is to change the environment in which children have too-easy access to too many calories. Today's announcement marks the first real change in this environment.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said at the news conference that Clinton's participation was a major factor in the industry action. But he praised the industry for seizing the initiative.
"Anyone who jumps into an unknown body of water gets there by being pushed, or to test it for everyone else," Huckabee said. "The soft drink industry won't wait to be pushed. It invites the rest of the food industry to join them. ... It may be a soft drink industry, but they made a very hard decision. ... They are among the first to say, 'We all have a role in decreasing childhood obesity.'"
American Heart Association president Robert H. Eckel, MD, a researcher at the University of Colorado Health Science Center, also praised the soft drink industry.
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