Ban urged on soft drinks, sugary snacks in schools

WASHINGTON – A prestigious scientific panel Wednesday urged the government to ban soft drinks, sugary snacks and other junk food from schools, saying the typical fare available in vending machines, at snack bars and at class birthday parties is contributing to the growing obesity of America’s children.

The report by the Institute of Medicine, which Congress requested, said less-nutritious items should be replaced with healthier stuff such as fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. It emphasized adding snacks with more whole grains and less sodium, saturated fat and added sugar.

Federal officials recently proposed raising the nutritional standards for school lunches or breakfasts, but the recommendations issued Wednesday are the first national attempt to address the healthfulness of so-called “competitive” school foods – snacks and drinks that often are sold to raise money for schools.

In place of potato chips, chocolate bars and other popular snacks, the report said, schools should sell healthier options such as apples, carrot sticks, raisins, low-sugar cereals, whole-grain tortilla chips, granola bars and nonfat yogurt with no more than 30 grams of added sugar.

The proposed guidelines also urge limiting the calorie content of all snacks and drinks – to no more than 200 per portion – and switching to items that contain no more than 35 percent of calories from fat, no trans fats, less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat, and lower levels of sugar and sodium.

The report by the institute, a branch of the National Academies of Sciences, also urged eliminating sports drinks, soft drinks and caffeinated drinks. Instead, the guidelines call for schools to provide free, safe drinking water or give students the opportunity to buy nonfat or low fat milk or limited amounts of 100 percent juice.

After hours, high schools would be allowed to sell less nutritious snacks and drinks such as baked potato chips, whole wheat pretzels, seltzer water or caffeine-free diet soda.

The Department of Agriculture, which sets the standards for school lunches, currently has no authority to regulate snacks, but nine senators are co-sponsoring the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act to give it that power. If passed, school districts would be required to meet the guidelines or face loss of school lunch funding or possible fines.

Susan Neely, president of the American Beverage Association, said the report “puts an important focus on school nutrition and we agree. In fact, our industry is already changing the mix of products in schools across America to cut calories and control portion sizes.

But J. Justin Wilson, senior research analyst for one food industry group, the Center for Consumer Freedom, called the recommendations “misguided food regulation” that threatens to make class birthday parties a thing of the past.