New U.S. Standards Look to Limit Junk Foods in Schools

Guidelines encourage nutritious foods, drinks to help combat obesity epidemic

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

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WEDNESDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- In an effort to curb skyrocketing childhood obesity rates, U.S. health officials unveiled nutrition standards Wednesday for foods and beverages that compete with federal school meal programs.

This means potentially unhealthy foods available to elementary, middle and high school students from cafeterias, snack bars and increasingly ubiquitous vending machines.

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"There's no regulation (of these foods) in schools, so schools have become a big haven for pretty much everything," said Geri Brewster, a registered dietician and wellness consultant for Northern Westchester Hospital Center in Mount Kisco, N.Y. "It's going to come down to pay now or pay later."

The report, Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools: Leading the Way to Healthier Youth, was released Wednesday by the Institute of Medicine and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and was originally requested by Congress.

Lisa Harper Mallonee, a registered dietician and assistant professor of dental hygiene at Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry, called the recommendations "wonderful," but emphasized that intensive efforts will be needed to make them work.

"It's not just federal agencies and industry -- it has to be grassroots," she said. "It's going to have to be schools, parents, everyone working within schools to actually get it into motion."

According to the CDC, the prevalence of overweight among children aged 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the past 20 years, jumping from 7 percent in 1980 to 18.8 percent in 2004. Among teens, the rate almost tripled, from 5 percent to 17.1 percent. This trend may be fueled partly by high-calorie, low-nutrient foods available in schools. Unlike foods from federally reimbursable school nutrition programs, these foods do not have to conform to any nutritional guidelines or recommendations.

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