Connecticut schools target junk food

[Karen]

HARTFORD, Connecticut (AP) -- Lawmakers want to make sure Connecticut students aren't part of the Pepsi Generation.

Connecticut is on the verge of adopting the most far-reaching ban in the country on soda and junk food in public schools, in an effort to curb rising rates of childhood obesity.

Similar but weaker proposals have been introduced in at least 17 states this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Policies are on the books in a few states, such as Arkansas and California.

Advocates say Connecticut's ban would be the strongest because it is so broad, applying to all grades and all school sites where food is sold.

"Connecticut would be the first state to apply those standards to high schools," said Margo Wootan, director of nutritional policy for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Most of the recently passed policies are limited in that they only apply to elementary and middle schools."

Last week, lawmakers in the House voted 88-55 after an eight-hour debate to pass a law banning soda and junk food in cafeterias, vending machines and school stores. It also requires 20 minutes of physical activity outside of gym for children in kindergarten through fifth grade.

The bill heads to the Senate this week where leaders expect it to pass.

"By no stretch of the imagination does it solve all the problems, but it's very important that we provide the right models in our schools," said Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr.

The topic was one of the most contested issues of the session. The lengthy debate outlasted discussions about the death penalty and a bill that allowed Connecticut to grant same-sex civil unions. Lawmakers confessed their personal weight problems and many lawmakers openly drank soda during the debate.

Soft drink companies lobbied fiercely against the bill, and many high schools worried they would lose money if sodas disappeared. In the end, weary legislators allowed a compromise that permits high school sales of diet soda and sports drinks on a limited basis.

"Diet sodas, while not particularly good for children, have zero sugar content and therefore do not contribute to the weight problem that we're trying to address," said Rep. Andrew Fleischmann, D-West Hartford.

Opponents argue that the legislation crossed a line, implementing a "Big Brother"-style mandate better handled by local school districts. Rep. Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, said the legislation wouldn't affect the obesity crisis when school menus offer selections such as cheeseburgers, pizza, chicken nuggets and nachos.

"How many of you will stand there and say, 'If you have your share of sloppy joes and quesadillas, you're not going to put on a few pounds?"' Cafero said.

Many state schools have already taken steps on their own. Last year, New Haven Public Schools decided to make Nathan Hale Elementary School junk-free, taking soda out of vending machines and serving baked versions of french fries and tater tots. The initiative expanded this year.

Some are unconvinced the initiative is the right way to approach the obesity problem. Rep. Konstantinos Diamantis, D-Bristol, said he weighed 240 pounds as an eighth-grader and couldn't play sports because of weight limits. He lost the weight through willpower.

"There's a host of things that go into it," he said. "Banning a particular food isn't going to teach a child a proper form of nutrition."

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/23/school.nutrition.ap/

[Angeline]

Of course you will get complainers who say this isn't enough, it won't work blah blah blah. They are probably in the pockets of the softdrink co, or are just chronic naysayers.

The fact is it's a great initiative. Sure this initiative won't work for those kids who live in a house filled with junk food but this will be a godsend for those parents who feed their kids well but are continually sabotaged by what their kids eat outside the home.

What the naysayers don't realize (but the Softdrink co do!) is the impact of having junk food on a regular basis. If you have one meal of junk food every single day, you can really pack on the pounds.

It also give kids the idea that junk food is a staple, when it really should be a occasional indulgence, if consumed at all.

[emmy207]

They are having a big battle in the UK with junk food and school lunches.
In the UK, the poorest children have free school lunches, it is often the main meal of the day, so if they at least get one healthy meal a day it would be better than none. If they eat some veggies or proper meat, an apple or a banana it has to be better than a mars bar and a Coke.

When I was at school, the meals were good, traditionally English with a proper pudding and custard, and I knew about ten fact people in the entire school.
I can count on ten fingers the amount of times my parents took me to McDonalds. I didn't go to a KFC until I was 18.
It wasn't until I started eating fast food regularly that I started to gain weight.
I remember I had an early morning job. For breakfast I often had a bacon roll. But I had a phase of have McDonalds breakfasts and I gained half a stone within a week.

[zedgirl]

They are having a big battle in the UK with junk food and school lunches.


That Jamie Oliver's School Dinners series was one of the most depressing things I’ve seen in a while. Watching those kids (and adults) resist eating his food so vehemently was truly shocking to me and a real eye opener. Parents sneaking fast food through the school fence to their kids so they wouldn’t have to eat his food, a kid that refused to even taste-test a gourmet chicken wrap because he swore it would make him throw up and the one that did actually throw up into his dinner just from tasting real food……unbelievable!

Did that series end up making any real impact on the school dinners over there?

[emmy207]

Yes, there are massive campaigns to change school meals.
The problem is many school authorites have private contractors providing the school dinners. So it is out of the governments hands but parent pressure it huge.
Personally I think that those with schools that refuse to improve their school meals, should suffer boycotts with the mothers sending their kids with packed lunches for a week.
Private companies care purely for profit so hit them were it will hurt them.
And fizzy drinks were banned from school when I was there, no one was allowed to bring them from home and there were never sold at school, even when in high school we had a cafeteria.
We also have Home Economic were we were taught healthy cooking, things like lentil soup, quiches etc.
I find it so depressing that kids do not know real food.

When I was a kid, I wouldn't eat vegatables,(but I know a zuccini from a cauliflower) so my mother still put cress (which I grew) on my plate that I had to eat, with my fish fingers and beans. She made me take vitamin C and introduced me too new things. She would make Pizza from scratch, give me healthy cereals for breakfast like weetabix or museli and fruit juice. I was rarely allowed sweets, never much chocolate only as a treat. (Like I was allowed Nutella every morning on holiday in Greece and lemonade but not at home.I was allowed a fizzy drink with sunday lunch, just one can and it had to be colourless 7up and we had a bottle of coke and a bottle of lemonade for Christmas. That was it.)
If you go to our supermarkets on a saturday, families are buying trolley loads of junk. And little kids are being feed diets of chips, chicken nuggets, coke and chocolate. No fruit and maybe peas for veg. Hense the obesity problem here.

[Angeline]

That Jamie Oliver's School Dinners series was one of the most depressing things I’ve seen in a while. Watching those kids (and adults) resist eating his food so vehemently was truly shocking to me and a real eye opener. Parents sneaking fast food through the school fence to their kids so they wouldn’t have to eat his food, a kid that refused to even taste-test a gourmet chicken wrap because he swore it would make him throw up and the one that did actually throw up into his dinner just from tasting real food……unbelievable!

Did that series end up making any real impact on the school dinners over there?


That's pretty amazing! I've heard of his show, but haven't seen it. It doesn't really suprise me. Kids are as finicky as you will allow them to be. What does surprise me however are parents trying to sabotage the program. You would think they would know better.


Maybe this is all because kids nowadays are way too spoiled. My mother came from a family of 12. She was was telling me the other day than when she was young, her father would buy a whole barrel of apples to feed the family over winter. She said that the kids considered themselves lucky, because not every family could afford that. For Christmas they would get apples and oranges as gifts.

When I grew up, we had access to more, but we certainly weren't allowed to dictate what we would eat. Seems to me that nowadays children are king and parents slave to their every whim.

My friend, when she was raising her kids, had a simple rule. If you don't eat your dinner, it will be wrapped up, put in the fridge and served again the next day.

[Faust]

Link (http://www.courant.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-fit-school-nutrition,0,3117576.story)

Conn. Gov. Has Doubts About Nutrition Bill
By NOREEN GILLESPIE
Associated Press Writer

May 26 2005, 10:53 AM EDT

HARTFORD, Conn. -- The state House and Senate agree that soda and junk food should be kicked out of Connecticut schools. But does Gov. M. Jodi Rell?

Rell may have the final word on a far-reaching school nutrition bill that was given final legislative approval on Wednesday evening with a 25-11 Senate vote. It now heads to Rell, who indicated earlier in the day that she had reservations about it.

The law would ban most sodas and many snacks in school cafeterias, school stores and vending machines. Schools could not sell snacks deemed unhealthy by the state Education Department.

The bill would also require 20 minutes of physical activity for young students each day outside of gym class.

"I think it should be left to local school boards to make that decision," Rell said at a news conference.

The bill passed by a veto-proof margin in the Senate, but not the House. Lawmakers have not said if they would attempt to override a veto.

Experts have said the legislation would be the strictest school nutrition bill in the country. The soda ban would go into effect July 1; and education officials would release a list of approved snacks by Jan. 1. The bill, which evoked lengthy and emotional debates in both chambers, was the most hotly contested legislation so far this session.

During an eight-hour debate in the House last week, the bill was amended to allow the sales of diet soda and sports drinks like Gatorade in high schools, but only on a limited basis after lunch. That sent it back to the Senate, where many opponents were puzzled.

"You're not going to stop childhood obesity by letting them drink sugar-free soda all day long," said Sen. John McKinney, R-Fairfield.

Many felt that the bill usurped the role of parents.

"I just hate the thought of the state coming in and saying, 'We're going to become the parent authority now," said Sen. Judith Freedman, R-Westport, who suggested the issue needed more study.

Schools have expressed concerns about losing profits, though the bill would allow soda and junk food snacks to be sold after school hours at school-sponsored events, like football games. Soft drink companies lobbied fiercely against the bill.

Proponents said that taking sugary soda and junk food away would teach students about good nutrition choices.

Advocates vowed to turn their pressure to the governor's office. Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, the chief proponent of the bill, said the argument that the decision belonged in the hands of local schools didn't fly with him.

"I disagree," he said. "We have uniform standards when it comes to the health of our children. And that's what this is about. We do that with cigarettes. We do that with a wide variety of other issues."

Lucy Nolan, executive director of End Hunger Connecticut!, said the proposal has widespread support among parents.

"I really would be shocked if she vetoed this," Nolan said. "I wonder who she's listening to. Is she listening to the parents?"

Nolan led a pack of advocates to the governor's office to deliver a letter signed by more than 100 nonprofit organizations, food pantries, doctors and others supporting the bill.

"We may have to slip it under the door," Nolan said.

With the office darkened, that's what they did.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press