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Senate Eyes Stricter School Lunch Standards

Ballooning Obesity Problem "Almost a Crisis"

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com Congressional Correspondent

March 6, 2007

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Senators today introduced and began discussions on legislation that would enforce stricter regulations on unhealthy snack foods and beverages found in public schools.

"Unhealthy weight, even obesity, among children has increased dramatically over the past 30 to 40 years," Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.

"Rates of obesity among U.S. children and teens tripled between 1980 and 2002," Mary Lou Hennrich, executive director of Community Health Partnership, said at the hearing. "For individuals born in 2000, the chance of developing diabetes during their lifetime is 39 percent for females and 33 percent for males ... One needs to re-examine both the value and the effectiveness of local control with regards to children's health and nutrition."

Harkin, chairman of the Agriculture Committee introduced legislation that will update school nutrition mandates that are almost 30 years old.

The Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act would update nutrition standards for snack foods sold in school cafeterias alongside the regular school meals, and would apply those standards everywhere on school grounds, including in vending machines and school stores.

Although junk foods are not allowed in the cafeteria, federal law permits the sale of junk foods through vending machines and stores anywhere on school grounds including just outside the cafeteria, though some local school districts may have tougher measures in places.

According to a Government Accountability Office report, 99 percent of high schools, 97 percent of middle schools and 83 percent of elementary schools have vending machines, school stores or snack bars. The most common items sold out of school vending machines, school stores and snack bars include soda and sports drinks, salty snacks, candy and high-fat baked goods.

This is the second time Harkin has introduced the bipartisan bill. In the last Congress, it was never brought to the Senate floor. But with Democratic control and a similar bill to be introduced in the House, it appears more likely that this bill will see action in the 110th Congress.

Proponents of the bill herald its potential to fight the nation's bloating obesity dilemma.

The Des Moines, Iowa, School District has implemented a program that introduces fresh fruit and vegetables on a daily basis to students in the cafeteria and classroom, Teresa Nece, Food and Nutrition director in Des Moines said.

Students have learned the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables and according to some parents, have taken that knowledge home and have been eating healthier outside of school, Nece said.

"It is my goal that every American kid is eating fresh fruits and vegetable in school in 10 years," Harkin said.

The American Beverage Association (ABA), which lobbies on behalf of the non-alcoholic beverage industry has introduced voluntary rules that limit calories and portions found in beverages within schools.

Susan Neely, president and chief executive officer of the ABA said "thousands" of schools have already signed on for the rules, but proponents of the legislation think all vending machines and sugary drinks should be banned, as Harkin's bill would do.

"We applaud the ABA's voluntary guidelines," Hennrich said. "But they are voluntary and schools need to implement them."

Although no one verbally opposed the legislation, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said he is worried schools will lose valuable income from vending machine and snack bar sales.

But Hennrich and Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, shared statistics that revealed many schools actually increased funds when they cut ties with those sources of income.

"When Jefferson County School District in Kentucky set nutrition standards for items sold through its a la carte line, it experienced an annual decrease of $3 million in a la carte revenue," Hennrich said. "However, at the same time it saw a $6.9 million annual increase in school meal program revenue, resulting in a net annual increase of $3.7 million for the county's school food service programs."

The Community Health Partnership found that very little school revenue is actually raised from vending and beverage contracts.

"School districts that have made changes have reported no loss of revenue," Brownell said. "In fact, some schools have found that revenue increased due to increased sales of water. There are also studies showing that removal of unhealthy snacks leads to increased participation in and greater income from the National School Lunch Program."

In his conclusion this morning, Harkin emphasized the importance of this bill's swift passage.

"I think it starts establishing healthy eating habits," Harkin said. "We're almost in a crisis situation. We have to do something about this immediately."

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