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July 5th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda THURSDAY, July 5 (HealthDay News) — More U.S. elementary schools are
banning unhealthy beverages from the premises, according to a new
report.
Just one-third of students in U.S. elementary schools had access to
sugary drinks and high-fat milk in 2010-2011, compared to 47 percent in
2007-2008, the report indicated. And less than 12 percent could obtain
sugar-sweetened drinks at school last year.
“We are seeing some really encouraging changes in the school
environment,” said study co-author Lindsey Turner, research scientist at
the Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois at
Chicago.
“They are removing sugary beverages and high-fat milk,” she said.
However, “there is still progress to be made.”
The report is published in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics
Adolescent Medicine.
The researchers surveyed schools using criteria developed by the
Institute of Medicine, an independent organization that advises decision
makers. It recommends that beverages offered at schools — through snack
bars, vending machines or a la carte lunch lines — be limited to water,
100 percent juice and nonfat or 1 percent milk.
It’s hoped that restricting high-calorie beverages will help curb the
nation’s obesity epidemic. In 1980, 7 percent of U.S. children aged 6 to
11 were obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. In 2008, nearly 20 percent — or one in five kids — were
obese.
Obesity in childhood sets the stage for long-term, serious health
issues, such as diabetes and heart disease.
For this report, Turner’s team looked at the years 2006 through 2011.
Among other findings, the investigators found the percentage of public
grade-school students who had access to sugary beverages alone decreased
from 17 percent in 2006-2007 to less than 12 percent in 2010-2011.
The percentage of public grade-school students who could buy only
healthy drinks outside of school meals rose from 10 percent in 2006-2007
to 21 percent in 2010-2011.
The trend is positive, but “there is still a third of kids who have
access to beverages that are not approved,” Turner said.
The report covers only grade-school students. Information on middle and
high schools is expected later this year, she said.
The data does not address unhealthy beverages that children drink at
home or in restaurants, and other studies have found that bans on
unhealthy drinks at school do not lower their overall consumption.
Commenting on the study, Tracey Halliday, spokesperson for the American
Beverage Association, said the report shows that voluntary industry
guidelines are working.
“In early 2010, our industry announced it had successfully implemented
voluntary national School Beverage Guidelines, reducing beverage calories
shipped to schools by a dramatic 88 percent since 2004,” Halliday
said.
In elementary schools, the guidelines “removed full-calorie soft drinks
and allow for only bottled water, low-fat milk and 100 percent juice in
8-ounce containers,” she added.
Halliday called the guidelines for its member companies “an historic
effort that was implemented in good faith as a result of a promise to
change the school beverage landscape in our nation’s schools — and we
delivered on our commitment.”
Parents should know the beverage policies at their child’s school,
Turner said. If the school still provides unhealthy drinks, she suggests
talking to school administrators. Ask them to remove them, she said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is updating its nutrition
standards for foods and beverages available in schools, is expected to
release a proposal soon.
More information
For help discussing weight with your child, visit the Academy
of Nutrition and Dietetics.
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