Allinace for a Healthier Generation

Consider the following statistics:

• Kids consume an estimated 35 to 50 percent of their daily calories during the school day.
• Given the seriousness of the health consequences associated with being overweight, and the rate ofincrease in the past few decades, the former U.S. Surgeon General has declared overweight prevalence in children and adolescents “a major public health concern.”
• Health is directly related to children’s ability to maximize their academic potential. Healthy children have better attendance, improved behavior, fewer visits to the school nurse, and increased attention, creativity, and test scores.

For these reasons, and many others, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation – a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation – has launched its Healthy Schools Program to help students build healthy habits. Fifty-four million students attend nearly 123,000 elementary, middle and high schools nationwide, making schools a primary environment for developing healthy habits in young Americans. While children’s health is not solely dependent on schools, schools can assist children by creating an atmosphere that teaches, supports and provides opportunities for healthy behaviors.

On May 3rd, 2006, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and the American Beverage Association announced new voluntary school beverage guidelines to help curb the growth in childhood obesity by limiting portion sizes and reducing the number of calories available to children throughout the school day. Obesity is a complex problem, and there is no one solution. But the core of the problem is that many young people consume more calories than they burn. These guidelines are a part of the criteria for the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program and help students reduce the calories they consume.

Nationally, 83% of elementary schools, 97% of middle/junior high schools, and 99% of high schools sell food and beverages outside of the reimbursable meals program through vending machines, school stores, or a la carte in the cafeteria. The Alliance School Beverage Guidelines cover beverages offered for sale in these venues.

According to the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, school districts must develop wellness policies that include nutrition standards for all foods sold during the schools day. In addition, many states are passing legislation that sets additional standards for food and beverages available in all of their schools. Both Mississippi and North Dakota have
used the Alliance beverage guidelines as the basis for policies that govern the schools in their states.

To implement the guidelines in schools in your community, encourage your school leaders to reach out to their vendors and start amending school beverage contracts to meet the guidelines. The beverage industry is working to spread these standards to 75% of the nation’s schools prior to the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year and to fully implement them prior to the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

For further information on the Alliance School Beverage Guidelines and for tips on implementation, please visit www.HealthierGeneration.org.