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SMART CHOICES FOR KIDS

EDUCATION NOT TAXATION

• Bottled water
• Up to 8 ounce servings of milk and 100% juice
• Fat-free or low-fat regular and flavored milk and nutritionally equivalent (perUSDA) milk alternatives with up to 150 calories/ 8 ounces
• 100% juice with no added sweeteners, up to 120 calories / 8 ounces, and with at least 10% of the recommended daily value for three or more vitamins and minerals

 

Middle School
• Same as elementary school, except juice and milk may be sold in 10 ounce servings
• As a practical matter, if middle school and high school students have shared access to areas on a common campus or in common buildings, then the school community has the option to adopt the high school standard

 

High School
• Bottled water
• No- or low-calorie beverages with up to 10 calories / 8 ounces
• Up to 12 ounce servings of milk, 100% juice and certain other drinks
  • Fat-free or low-fat regular and flavored milk and nutritionally equivalent (per
    USDA) milk alternatives with up to 150 calories / 8 ounces
  • 100% juice with no added sweeteners, up to 120 calories / 8 ounces, and with at least 10% of the
    recommended daily value for three or more vitamins and minerals
  • Other drinks with no more than 66 calories / 8 ounces
• At least 50% of non-milk beverages must be water and no- or low-calorie options

 

Time of Day
• All beverages sold on school grounds during the regular and extended school day.
• The extended school day includes before and after school activities like clubs, yearbook, band, student government, drama and childcare/latchkey programs.
• These guidelines do not apply to school-related events where parents and other adults are part of an audience or are selling beverages as boosters during intermission, as well as immediately before or after an event. Examples of these events include school plays and band concerts.

Physical Activity Legislation and Initiatives

Balancing calories consumed with calories burned through physical activity is critical to losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight for all consumers, especially children.

While nutrition education addresses the “calories in” part of the equation. we also must address the “calories out” part. That is why we support legislation and initiatives that promote physical activity for our kids.  

FIT Kids Act

The Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids Act – or the FIT Kids Act – promotes the need to make physical education in schools a greater priority. It amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require annual state and local educational agency report cards to include specified information on school health and physical education programs. Other objectives include: the promotion of healthy, active lifestyles by students within ESEA grant programs that support school counseling, smaller learning communities, community learning centers and parental involvement in their childrens’ education; and revising the professional development program for teachers and principals to include training for physical and health education teachers, and training on improving students’ health habits and participation in physical activities. It also directs the Secretary of Education to contract with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for a study that: (1) assesses the affect health and physical education have on students’ ability to learn; and (2) makes recommendations for improving, and measuring improvements to, their health and physical education in schools.

PE4Life

PE4Life is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring active, healthy living by advancing the development of quality, daily physical education programs for all children. The organization’s approach to physical education is that it should be offered daily to all children; be available to all students, not just those that are athletically inclined; provide a wide variety of sports and fitness activities; assess students on their personal progress toward fitness and physical activity goals; regularly incorporate technology; and extend beyond the walls of the school gymnasium to form community and business partnerships.

The Partnership for Play Every Day

This nationwide, action-oriented partnership is made up of a diverse group of premier organizations from the public, non-profit and private sectors. It is convened by the YMCA, the National Recreation and Park Association and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.

Responsible Marketing

ICBA Global Guidelines on Marketing to Children

The beverage industry has long recognized the positive role it can play in promoting healthy lifestyles for all ages. This commitment extends to responsible marketing practices, especially when it comes to children. In 2008, the International Council of Beverages Association (ICBA) adopted global guidelines on marketing to children. Through adopting the ICBA Global Guidelines on Marketing to Children, the beverage industry can further protect the role of parents, ensuring a collaborative effort to help teach children around the world how to make more informed choices.

These guidelines (http://www.ameribev.org/files/marketing_to_children.pdf), which are supported by the American Beverage Association, set a standard whereby beverage companies voluntarily agree to eliminate the advertising and marketing of a wide range of beverages, to any audience that is comprised predominantly of children under 12. This policy includes paid media outlets such as TV, radio, print, Internet, phone messaging and cinema (including product placement). These guidelines were developed within the framework of a wider food and drinks industry commitment to collaborate with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other stakeholders to help implement the 2004 WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. They are the first, sector-specific step in a broader movement that will include a variety of initiatives and a large number of food and beverage partners.

EDUCATION NOT TAXATION

Discriminatory and punitive taxes on soda and juice drinks do not teach our children to have a healthy lifestyle, and have no meaningful impact on child obesity or public health. They just further burden working families already struggling in this trying economy. Even the science shows that education, not taxation, is the key to reducing obesity and improving public health. Learn more about why increased taxes are not the solution.

Why a Soda Tax is the Wrong Tax Policy

“Taxing Sins: Are Excise Taxes Efficient?”
Mercatus on Policy 2009
Link: http://www.mercatus.org/PublicationDetails.aspx?id=27272

The Mercatus Center at George Mason University (GMU) applies scholarly research to problems facing policy-makers. In this paper, Richard Williams, managing director of GMU’s regulatory studies program and government accountability project, along with Katelyn Christ, examine why excise taxes fail to be efficient and effective public policy. Together, they found that any impact of a soft drink tax would be trivial because soft drink consumption is a relatively small part of the diet for overweight people. Their findings also support that it would be a regressive tax, whereby the burden would likely fall disproportionately on the poor. Importantly, the paper also states that, while consumers have little control over these funds, governments may not spend the increased revenues from such taxes on the intended social purpose.

Calories are Calories “Comparison of Weight-Loss Diets with Different Compositions of Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrates.” Sacks et al.
New England Journal of Medicine; February 2009

This study funded by the National Institutes of Health reaffirms that, regardless of the source, calories are calories when it comes to losing weight.

Soft Drinks Are Not Unique Contributors to Obesity

“Lack of findings for the association between obesity risk and usual sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in adults – A primary analysis of databases of CSFII-1989-1991, CSFII-1994-1998, NHANES III, and combined NHANES 19999-2002.” Sun S and Empie M. Food and Chemical Toxicology; 2007

This study looked at the relationship between obesity risk and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) along with multiple lifestyle factors and found that those who frequently consumed SSB (primarily HFCS-sweetened beverages) did not have a higher obesity risk than those who consumed them less frequently.

“Sugar-sweetened beverages and body mass index in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis^1-4.” Forshee et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 2008

This review article looked at 12 studies to assess the role of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) in weight gain among children and adolescents and found that the association between SSBs and body mass index was near zero based on the current body of scientific evidence.

“The role of beverage consumption, physical activity, sedentary behavior and demographics on body mass index of adolescents.” Forshee et al. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition; 2004

This study used government data, NHANES 1988-1994, to examine the relative importance of demographics, beverage consumption, physical activity and sedentary behavior for maintaining a healthy body weight. The authors found that regular physical activity was linked to lower BMI among teens whereas sedentary behavior was linked to higher BMI. Consumption of regular carbonated soft drinks had no impact on teens’ BMI; thus, to reduce obesity rates, policies should “revitalize physical activity and physical education programs for all students/not just student athletes/and educational efforts that discourage sedentary behavior will be far more successful in combating overweight than an undue focus on beverage consumption.

“Physical Inactivity and Obesity: A Vicious Circle.” Pietiläine et al. Obesity; 2008

This study showed that physical activity in adolescence strongly and independently predicts total (and especially) abdominal obesity in young adulthood. Thus, physical activity should be seriously recommended for obesity prevention in the young.

“Comparison of overweight and obesity prevalence in school-aged youthfrom 34 countries and their relationships with physical activity and dietary patterns.” Janssen et al. Obesity Reviews; 2005

This review compared estimates of the prevalence of overweight among school-aged youth in 34 countries and examined associations between overweight and selected dietary and physical activity patterns. Within most countries, physical activity levels were lower and TV viewing times were higher in overweight compared with normal weight youth. Overweight status was not associated with the intake of fruits, vegetables, and soft drinks or time spent on the computer. In conclusion, the adolescent obesity epidemic is a global issue. Increasing physical activity participation and decreasing television viewing should be the focus of strategies aimed at preventing and treating overweight and obesity in youth.

“Associations of Various Family Characteristics and Time Use With Children’s Body Mass Index.” Forshee et al. Journal of Community Health Nursing; 2009

This study looked at various family characteristics and time use on the BMI of boys and girls aged 5-18 and found that the strongest predictor of overweight was the BMI of the head of the household. The findings suggest that a family-oriented approach to prevent and treat childhood and adolescent overweight is required.

HEALTHY ECONOMY American families and small businesses are struggling to survive in the current economy. The proposed national tax on soda and juice drinks will have a negative impact on American families struggling in this economy.

This is a regressive tax that would unnecessarily burden hard-working Americans. And it would do irreparable harm to an industry whose economic reach extends to literally every community in America, directly providing 220,000 good-paying jobs with health benefits and a direct economic impact of $136.4 billion.