Childhood obesity is still a growing problem. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, one out of every three children is at risk of becoming obese. Although many factors contribute to obesity in youths, children with weight problems often eat too much and exercise too little. One way of combating this is to remove sodas and snack foods from school vending machines.
Soda
Most teens get 13 percent of their calories each day from sugar-sweetened drinks, including sodas, sports drinks and specialty coffees. A single can of soda contains roughly 150 calories. Drinking just two a day --- which is the national average for teens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention --- can increase a child's caloric intake by 300 calories. In fact, a study conducted by the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota found that school-aged children who drank soda consumed close to 200 calories more than those who didn't. Since a pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, you're looking at a potential weight gain of almost 20 lbs. a year from drinking soda alone.
Snack Foods
Snack foods --- or at least "junk" foods, such as chips, cookies and crackers --- tend to be high in fat. A gram of fat is worth about 9 calories, whereas a gram of protein or carbohydrate is worth only 4 calories. Looking at this alone, you can see that the higher the fat content, the higher the calories. A small single-serve bag of chips contains around the same amount of calories as a can of soda. Eating one a day can increase a child's caloric intake by 150 calories a day. Combine this with the average soda consumption and you're now looking at a potential weight gain of almost 36 lbs. a year.
Evidence
Removing sodas and snack foods from school vending machines won't necessarily stop childhood obesity, but it's a step in the right direction. A study conducted by the Bournemouth Diabetes and Endocrine Centre in Dorset, England found that limiting soda consumption helps encourage a modest amount of weight reduction. After 12 months, limited soda consumption decreased the percentage of overweight and obese children by 0.2 percent. This may not sound like a lot, but the control group saw an increase of overweight and obese children by 7.5 percent. At least limiting consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages may prevent excess weight gain in kids.
Exercise
Besides doing away with sodas and snack foods in campus vending machines, it's also important to increase the level of physical activity in youths. Children and teens need at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day, so look for ways to get your child moving. Swimming, biking and walking are all easily accessible pursuits, but you can also involve your child in an organized sport, such as soccer, baseball, football, basketball and tennis to increase his level of activity to burn those excess calories.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Teen Weight Loss: Healthy Habits Count; Mayo Clinic staff; November 2009
- "TIME" magazine; School's Out for Soda; Sora Song
- "British Medical Journal"; Preventing Childhood Obesity By Reducing Consumption of Carbonated Drinks: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial; J. James, et al.; May 2004
- "Journal of the American Dietetic Association"; Soft Drink Consumption Among US Children and Adolescents; Nutritional Consequences; L. Harnack, et al.; April 1999
- NorthStar; Districts Divided Over Soda Removal; Sara Dolan; February 2004
- Feingold Association of the United States; The Junk Food Wars Accelerate; February 2004
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