School vending machine snack sales are being challenged by U.S. nutrition experts as contributing to the number of obese and overweight children in America. The American Heart Association (AHA) and the surgeon general note that poor nutritional choices and a sedentary lifestyle are factors that lead to obesity in children. While legislation can't compel parents to make sure kids get more healthy food and exercise, it may lead to more nutritious snacks at schools.
Features
To subsidize school budgets, many elementary, middle and high schools now offer vending machine sales of snack foods and soda pop. Snack items tend to be high in calories and nonessential nutrients. When consumed in excessive quantities, these can lead to obesity. Obesity has immediate and long-term health risks and now affects more American children than ever before.
History
Most schools did not offer vending machine snacks until the 1980s, when lucrative sales were seen as saviors to nationwide budget crunches. Soda and candy manufacturers and vending companies garnered huge contracts that funneled millions of dollars into schools annually. The Government Accounting Office reports that by 2006 most elementary schools (83 percent) and nearly all middle schools (97 percent) and high schools (99 percent) sold unhealthy snacks and drinks to school kids without restrictions. Over that same period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the childhood obesity rate rose from 6.5 percent to an all-time high of 17 percent for ages 6 to 11.
Effects
This correlation between vending machine snacks in schools and childhood obesity is no coincidence. More unhealthy snacks in school and less demanding physical education programs raise the risk for childhood obesity, say medical experts. The AHA already documents repercussions in young people, including a growing number of cases of high blood pressure, atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes.
National Solutions
Former President Bill Clinton and the AHA began a voluntary school initiative in 2006 to help curb childhood obesity. They encouraged an end to school vending machine sales of high-calorie drinks and went on to include unhealthy snacks. The resulting public awareness pushed lawmakers to draft two bills regarding school vending machine sales and nutritional standards, which are making their way through Congress in 2010. Meanwhile, local jurisdictions, such as New York City, are enacting laws to bring vending machine drink items into line with existing nutrition rules for school lunches, setting limits on calories, sugar and caffeine content.
Local Solutions
Local jurisdictions, such as New York City, are enacting laws to bring vending machine drink items into line with existing nutrition rules for school lunches, setting limits on calories, sugar and caffeine content. And parents can underline the message of healthful snacks and meals with their own efforts at home.
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