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The Worldwide Battle Against Soft Drinks in Schools

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Abstract

Sugar-sweetened beverages are widely believed to be contributing to the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity around the world. One of the channels used by industry to encourage greater consumption and preferences for soft drinks is schools. But governments around the world are taking action to limit the availability of soft drinks in schools. More than 30 national and subnational governmental bodies have made efforts to restrict availability, and the soft drinks industry has also taken some limited voluntary action. Most government-led efforts—with some exceptions—restrict the availability of any drink with added sugar, but the voluntary pledges take less-restrictive approaches. There is little consensus on artificially sweetened drinks. Policies vary in other ways, too, presenting an opportunity to study the effects of different policy approaches on short- and long-term consumption and attitudes. In the meantime, the widespread condemnation of soft drinks in schools suggests that it is within the industry's interests to take more comprehensive action.

Introduction

It is commonly perceived that rising sugar intakes are contributing to the growing prevalence of obesity worldwide. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO),1 the global availability of sugar and sweeteners for consumption rose from 193 calories per person per day in 1961–1963 to 243 in 2001–2003. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) around the world is thought2 to be an important contributor to this increase. In the U.S., SSBs (including drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup) are now the primary source of added dietary sugars3 and have been linked3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 to excessive body weight and other chronic conditions.

Although the U.S. is the largest consumer of carbonated soft drinks in the world (54,981 million liters in 2007), consumption is increasing elsewhere. Industry data11 indicate that the total volume of carbonated soft drinks consumed in the U.S. fell by 0.6% between 2002 and 2007 but rose by 12.7% in western Europe, 28% in Eastern Europe, 23% in Latin America, 18.9% in the Asia Pacific region, 21.5% in the Middle East and Africa, and 2.7% in Australasia. These increases indicate that consumption growth of all soft drinks is higher outside the U.S., raising further concerns about the growth of obesity. As in the U.S., several countries are beginning to take action against SSBs.

Section snippets

Schools As a Target Market for Soft Drinks

In the U.S., the soft drinks industry has utilized schools to promote their products for decades. More than 85% of U.S. high school students now have soft drinks available to them in vending machines.12 Likewise, in the rest of the world, the soft drinks industry has targeted schools as a means of reaching young consumers. In the late 1990s, for example, the Latin American bottler Panamco (now owned by Coca-Cola Femsa) developed a specific program to target schools. In Costa Rica, the Schools

Government-Led Efforts

National or subnational governmental bodies have acted, in most cases since 2004, to limit the availability of soft drinks in schools in at least 30 countries around the world.14 The policies take many different forms. Lithuania, Malaysia, and New Zealand have developed national regulations; Australia and Brazil have developed regulations at a state or municipal level; and Croatia and the U.S. have done both. Some countries have developed nonbinding guidelines, as in the Canadian provinces. In

Industry-Led Approaches

Through their trade associations, global soft drinks companies have developed voluntary pledges on soft drinks in schools in the U.S.,15 Canada,16 Australia,17 the European Union,18 and reportedly in New Zealand.19 The International Council of Beverage Associations20 has developed guidelines on marketing to children, but as of February 2010 the guidelines did not include availability in schools.

The pledges, all made since 2006, are derivatives of each other. The wording of the Refreshments

Implementation and Effectiveness

Little information is available on the implementation of government policies. Some jurisdictions report21, 22, 23 that policies have been implemented, but anecdotal evidence from other areas suggests that policies either are not yet in place or are not being enforced (e.g., Fiji, Greece, and Malaysia).

The industry has monitored three of the voluntary pledges. In the U.S., the American Beverage Association reported24 that 79% of school contracts are in compliance with the school beverage

Research Needs and Challenges

The international variation of policies on soft drink availability in schools presents an opportunity to examine the effects of various policy options, especially with regard to the effects of different levels of restrictions. Such research could help identify policies that are most likely to succeed, information that is currently lacking for obesity prevention in general.39 However, such studies need to be undertaken with care because policies may have intangible, and/or long-term effects that

The Future

Governmental bodies around the world are taking increasing action to address the availability of soft drinks in schools. Since the evidence of the effects of restricting availability on consumption and health is still unclear and emerging, it is likely that these actions are being driven by the belief that high-calorie, nutrient-poor drinks no longer have a place in schools, and, moreover, that schools are an appropriate starting point to reduce total consumption of SSBs among youth. Soft

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