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Elementary school vending machines are planning to get rid of pop. Great news towards better health for our young kids. Hopefully they replace it all with water and not sports drinks.
School vending machines to drop pop
Cola will still be sold in cafeterias and high schools
Sports drinks should also be pulled, experts say
KRISTIN RUSHOWY
EDUCATION REPORTER
Pop companies may have decided to pull soft drinks from vending machines in elementary and middle schools, but colas will still be available in cafeterias as well as in high schools.
The move has some questioning whether school boards should consider banning the popular sports drinks as well, saying they are low on nutrition and high in sugar and sodium.
Refreshments Canada ??? the industry association representing Coke, Pepsi and other beverage companies ??? announced yesterday that only fruit juices, water and sports drinks will be offered in vending machines in elementary and middle schools by the beginning of the next school year.
Gemma Zecchini, president of Refreshments Canada, said younger students were targeted, "the rationale being that students (at this age) need some assistance and guidance making nutritional choices."
Education Minister Gerard Kennedy welcomed the move as a "good step forward."
During the election campaign, the Liberals promised to ban junk food vending machines in elementary schools as part of a healthy living plan for the province's children.
Kennedy said the government met with cola industry representatives in December, and is pleased they are working co-operatively on this issue.
"This is a no-go zone in terms of elementary schools, and we are going to persist and continue until we have only healthy choices available."
Zecchini said while the announcement on carbonated beverages may seem sudden, it actually follows a year's worth of consultations with school boards, parents and nutrition experts.
William Wong, student trustee for the Toronto District School Board, also praised the move.
"It's nice to be pulling pop out of the machines voluntarily ??? not just because they're losing money, but because pop really isn't healthy for children of any age," he said, adding some U.S. jurisdictions have banned pop altogether.
Wong has been fighting the board to make public its contract with Coke, after a ruling by the privacy commissioner that such contracts should be open to the public even if boards have signed confidentiality agreements.
Under the pop companies' plan, which will be implemented by next fall, 50 per cent of choices in vending machines in elementary and middle schools will be juice or water. The other 50 per cent will be sports and juice drinks.
But Bob Goode, a physiologist at the University of Toronto, said sports drinks are also high in sugar and "they should be pulled too."
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`Pop really isn't healthy for children of any age.'
Student trustee William Wong
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Such beverages also contain sodium, which is fine for athletes who are sweating a lot and need to replace the salt they lose, he said, "but these kids aren't sweating a lot."
"They're fine for people in endurance-type activities but for the most part, they're just adding calories," he said.
"The only thing that should be in the schools is fruit juice and water ??? and they can drink the water from the tap."
Most students get only 30 minutes of physical education twice a week and a study found they were only active for about 11 of those minutes, said Goode, a professor in the department of physical and health education.
But Zecchini said, "sports drinks are designed for enhanced hydration, and so that is an appropriate channel where kids are active and playing."
Vending machine contracts are worth millions to schools around Greater Toronto.
In the Toronto District School Board, pop machines are only allowed in schools where parents have agreed to them.
Its cola contract does not contain any incentives or bonuses for schools to sell more pop, said Catherine Moraes, the board's senior manager of nutrition services.
"Toronto is not majorly affected" by the pop companies' decision, said Moraes.
"There are no pop vending machines in our elementary or K to 6 schools," and just 28 of the board's 58 intermediate schools ??? serving students in Grades 6 to 9 ??? have a vending machine, some of which may have pop or just juice and water, she said.
For Toronto students, the most popular item in vending machines is water, followed by iced tea. Cola ranks about fifth.
Moraes said she would look into the sugar content of sports drinks, adding the board is constantly reviewing nutritional options in schools.
However, pop will still be sold in cafeterias in middle schools, although milk and juice are available at discounted prices, she added.
Kennedy said yesterday the government is working toward a policy on setting a nutritional standard for food offered in elementary schools, which encompasses more than just pop.
"The context here is that nobody wants to be contributing to an emerging social problem" of ill health and obesity among children, he said.
School vending machines to drop pop
Cola will still be sold in cafeterias and high schools
Sports drinks should also be pulled, experts say
KRISTIN RUSHOWY
EDUCATION REPORTER
Pop companies may have decided to pull soft drinks from vending machines in elementary and middle schools, but colas will still be available in cafeterias as well as in high schools.
The move has some questioning whether school boards should consider banning the popular sports drinks as well, saying they are low on nutrition and high in sugar and sodium.
Refreshments Canada ??? the industry association representing Coke, Pepsi and other beverage companies ??? announced yesterday that only fruit juices, water and sports drinks will be offered in vending machines in elementary and middle schools by the beginning of the next school year.
Gemma Zecchini, president of Refreshments Canada, said younger students were targeted, "the rationale being that students (at this age) need some assistance and guidance making nutritional choices."
Education Minister Gerard Kennedy welcomed the move as a "good step forward."
During the election campaign, the Liberals promised to ban junk food vending machines in elementary schools as part of a healthy living plan for the province's children.
Kennedy said the government met with cola industry representatives in December, and is pleased they are working co-operatively on this issue.
"This is a no-go zone in terms of elementary schools, and we are going to persist and continue until we have only healthy choices available."
Zecchini said while the announcement on carbonated beverages may seem sudden, it actually follows a year's worth of consultations with school boards, parents and nutrition experts.
William Wong, student trustee for the Toronto District School Board, also praised the move.
"It's nice to be pulling pop out of the machines voluntarily ??? not just because they're losing money, but because pop really isn't healthy for children of any age," he said, adding some U.S. jurisdictions have banned pop altogether.
Wong has been fighting the board to make public its contract with Coke, after a ruling by the privacy commissioner that such contracts should be open to the public even if boards have signed confidentiality agreements.
Under the pop companies' plan, which will be implemented by next fall, 50 per cent of choices in vending machines in elementary and middle schools will be juice or water. The other 50 per cent will be sports and juice drinks.
But Bob Goode, a physiologist at the University of Toronto, said sports drinks are also high in sugar and "they should be pulled too."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`Pop really isn't healthy for children of any age.'
Student trustee William Wong
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Such beverages also contain sodium, which is fine for athletes who are sweating a lot and need to replace the salt they lose, he said, "but these kids aren't sweating a lot."
"They're fine for people in endurance-type activities but for the most part, they're just adding calories," he said.
"The only thing that should be in the schools is fruit juice and water ??? and they can drink the water from the tap."
Most students get only 30 minutes of physical education twice a week and a study found they were only active for about 11 of those minutes, said Goode, a professor in the department of physical and health education.
But Zecchini said, "sports drinks are designed for enhanced hydration, and so that is an appropriate channel where kids are active and playing."
Vending machine contracts are worth millions to schools around Greater Toronto.
In the Toronto District School Board, pop machines are only allowed in schools where parents have agreed to them.
Its cola contract does not contain any incentives or bonuses for schools to sell more pop, said Catherine Moraes, the board's senior manager of nutrition services.
"Toronto is not majorly affected" by the pop companies' decision, said Moraes.
"There are no pop vending machines in our elementary or K to 6 schools," and just 28 of the board's 58 intermediate schools ??? serving students in Grades 6 to 9 ??? have a vending machine, some of which may have pop or just juice and water, she said.
For Toronto students, the most popular item in vending machines is water, followed by iced tea. Cola ranks about fifth.
Moraes said she would look into the sugar content of sports drinks, adding the board is constantly reviewing nutritional options in schools.
However, pop will still be sold in cafeterias in middle schools, although milk and juice are available at discounted prices, she added.
Kennedy said yesterday the government is working toward a policy on setting a nutritional standard for food offered in elementary schools, which encompasses more than just pop.
"The context here is that nobody wants to be contributing to an emerging social problem" of ill health and obesity among children, he said.