Bill Clinton knows about the dangers of obesity -- it nearly killed him. I’m sure that played a part in his foundation brokering a deal with beverage distributors to removed non-diet sodas from schools.
The distributors, working with a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association, also have agreed to sell only water, juice and low-fat milks to elementary and middle schools, said Jay Carson, a spokesman for former President Clinton.
Cadbury Schweppes PLC, Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and the American Beverage Association have all signed onto the deal, Carson said, adding that the companies represent “a very significant market share.” The American Beverage Association represents the majority of school vending bottlers.
“It’s a bold and sweeping step that industry and childhood obesity advocates have decided to take together,” Carson said.
A man who answered the phone at Cadbury Schweppes’ London headquarters said no one was available for comment. Calls seeking comment from other distributors were not immediately returned early Wednesday.
Sporting events, plays also affected
Nearly 35 million students nationwide will be affected by the deal, The Alliance for a Healthier Generation said in a news release. The agreement affects all public schools who have contracts with the distributors.The agreement applies to beverages sold on school grounds during the regular and extended school day, Carson said. After-school activities such as clubs, yearbook, band and choir practice won’t be able to purchase sugary drinks. But sales at events such as school plays, band concerts and sporting events, where a significant portion of the audience are adults, won’t be affected, he said.
The deal affects more than just school cafeterias and vending machines. Schools that use distributors to purchase soda for sales at sporting events and fundraisers will be subject to the new restrictions, too, Carson said.
How quickly the changes take hold will depend in part on individual school districts’ willingness to alter existing contracts, the release said. The companies will work to implement the changes at 75 percent of the nation’s public schools by the 2008-2009 school year, and at all schools a year later, the alliance said.
Many school districts around the country have already begun to replace soda and candy in vending machines with healthier items, and dozens of states have considered legislation on school nutrition this year.
The agreement follows an August decision by the American Beverage Association to adopt a policy limiting soft drinks in high schools to no more than 50 percent of the selections in vending machines. That recommendation was not binding.
Most elementary schools are already soda-free.
This is excellent news for the health of our children. High-fructose corn syrup, the sweetener used in most, if not all, regular sodas may be directly responsible for the epidemic of type-II diabetes that has developed over the past 40 years. Fructose has become the dominant sweetener in this country. The problem is that fructose is not metabolized like other sugars -- it is immediately converted to a triglyceride by the liver. So, first you get a moderate rise of insulin from the ingestion of fructose, then the fructose is converted into a fat which the insulin will shuttle into fat cells and muscle cells for storage. Bad news.
Here are a few links that shed more light on the dangers of this incredibly prevalent sugar.
High-fructose corn syrup: sugar on crack?Fructose is No Answer For a Sweetener
The Double Danger of High Fructose Corn Syrup
Sweet but Not So Innocent? High-Fructose Corn Syrup May Act More Like Fat Than Sugar in the Body
Consumption of soft drinks and high-fructose corn syrup linked to obesity and diabetes
Fructose: Maybe Not So Natural . . . and Not So Safe
Del.Icio.Us Tags: High-fructose corn syrup, Type-II diabetes, Diabetes, Fructose, Blood sugar, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Soda, Soft drinks, William J Clinton Foundation, Bill Clinton, Schools
Technorati Tags: High-fructose corn syrup, Type-II diabetes, Diabetes, Fructose, Blood sugar, Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Soda, Soft drinks, William J Clinton Foundation, Bill Clinton, Schools
No comments:
Post a Comment